|
The Native Digital
Divide:
A Review of Online Literature
The Native American Distance Education Community website
http://www.eot.ahpcc.unm.edu/Community/
University of New Mexico (UNM)
Albuquerque High Performance Computing Center (AHPCC)
This paper answers the question; "What are the obstacles
to integrating technology for improving education into Native cultures?"
by identifying the barriers, reporting possible solutions and summarizing the
various online reports in the "Native American Distance Education Community'
website. (23) According to reports over the last
decade, the lack of Native American infrastructure development and accompanying
skills needed to maintain it, cooperative Tribal commitments, and collaborative
government policies are the most common barriers affecting Native communities.
(15) Other questions about Native American telecommunication
infrastructure are also examined, as well as reporting suggested possible solutions
that Native communities can utilize to overcome these obstacles. (2)
The full online report and the accompanying Appendix A
is at http://www.eot.ahpcc.unm.edu/Community/Reports/NativeDigitalDivide.html
contains a listing of the online reports, papers, and groups are identified
by date of issue, then summarized, the identified obstacles are listed, and
their conclusions are stated.
Introduction 
At the time of the American Revolution, what is now
the United States was home to hundreds of indigenous peoples with a variety
of forms of self-government, organized at the tribal, village, or island
level. Today’s Native Americans—American Indians, Alaska Natives,
and Native Hawaiians—are the descendants of these indigenous peoples.
Over the last 200 years, indigenous peoples have struggled to maintain their
cultures, sovereignty, and self-determination in the face of population
pressures and ever-expanding national and state governments. ( 12
)
The online reports gathered within the "Native American
Distance Education Community" website ( 23
) are being used in a review of online literature. The research papers collected
in this website collectively show that question and answers have been available
for over seven years that answer the following question:
"What are the obstacles to integrating technology for
improving education
into Native cultures?"
This online documentation in the website has answered some
of the questions that Natives have been asking for years now by identifying
obstacles (barriers) and even suggested ways of overcoming those obstacles.
The obstacles within Native America vary from "lack of" to "not
understanding." Identifying the ‘lack of’ resources, people and
infrastructure, all the way to ‘not understanding’ the culture, the
people, or policies, are examples of the overall problems with solving the solution
to dissolving the obstacles. Once the obstacles cease to exist, then the incorporation
of technology into the educational systems will occur naturally and will be
created the Natives themselves.
The Website
Within the Community website are links to over 14 different
online reports of the status of the 550+ Native American Tribes and Communities
Telecommunications infrastructure, direct links to 27 of the 31 different Tribal
Colleges, 3 Federally funded Native Institutes, as well as 7 Native Alaskan
colleges within the College of Rural Alaska. Most of the past decades work is
documented online throughout the Internet, and is usually technically far ahead
of the intended audiences, Native Educators and Policy Makers. All of the reports,
papers, and groups utilized in this review of online literature are identified
in the website and linked to their originating site, or to a copy, if the site
is no longer available. This makes all of these reports available without searching
the whole Internet for unknown or specific reports on the Native American status
of technology readiness. Attempts to get Native Communities into a digital collaborative
environment have had their ups and downs, so another attempt is the "Native
American Distance Education Community" website, ( 23
) a community of Native American Educators & Technology Coordinators. The
website is tracking the status of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium
(AIHEC) Tribal Colleges' readiness for distance education. The Tribal Colleges
and Federally Funded Institutions are all combating their own Native Digital
Divide individually, but have not given up, even though the odds are against
them to succeed. ( 14 )
Review of Online Literature
The 1996 Telecommunications Act mandates that consumers
in all regions of the Nation, including low-income consumers and those in
rural, insular, and high [-] cost areas, should have access to telecommunications
and information services [47 U.S.C. § 254(b)(3)]. ( 4
)
A number of studies, that are accessible online at the "Native
American Distance Education Community" website, have documented the current
state of infrastructure development in Native communities from the perspective
of telecommunications, utilities, roads, medical/health, and education/training.
These Native communities are made up of the 550+ Tribes, 32 Tribal Colleges,
and 187 BIA K-12 schools. Repeatedly, several obstacles are mentioned in these
studies as barriers, which inhibit technology infrastructure development. The
most commonly identified barriers include; a) the prohibitive costs of
building the technology infrastructure, (1, 2,
3, 4, 5, 6,
8, 11, 12,
13, 14, 19,
20, 21, 22,
23) b) the lack of training on how to use
the technologies (1, 2, 3,
5, 6, 7, 21,
20, 22, 23)
c) while attaining the education on how and what to select as the technologies
to meet specific tribal development needs. (1, 2,
4, 5, 6, 7,
12, 13, 21,
22, 23) Currently, d)
federal law/policy which excludes Native communities from accessing funding
and programs (2, 3, 4,
5, 6, 7, 19,
23) are apparent. Within the Tribes, e) right
of way issues (2, 5, 6,
11) and f) tribal, state and federal approval processes,
(2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 19) are real obstacles that keep
Native Communities from overcoming the obstacles.
i.e. LIVING A DIGITALLY DIVIDED LIFE: The iMac
computer Myra Jodie won from a teen Web site will be the first on her block.
While the machine is Internet-ready, Myra’s home is not. The 13-year-old
lives on a Navajo Indian reservation where only a quarter of the home’s
have a telephone. Myra’s home does not have one - nor does it have running
water - nor is it likely that she will have one soon. The local phone company
says it charges from $6,600 to $10,000 a mile to extend new service. Her mother
estimates they live four miles from the nearest telephone line. To make a
phone call, she goes to one of the four pay phones at a local food store eight
miles away. The store takes messages for her when friends call for her there.
It is a pain not having a phone, but it’s the way it’s always been.
The phone company says many Navajos are too poor. Others worried about the
lack of phones say the phone company charges too much. Myra’s mother
says she’s looking into getting a phone. Her first step is to put down
a $200 deposit. But Marcella Jodie, 36, is unwilling to concede defeat. Myra
had been asking for a computer for three years. "I’m so proud of
my little girl," she says. "I can’t afford to get one for her
and she did it herself." [SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: Mike Cassidy,
Feb., 2000]
Online reports
The technological landscape for the Natives has changed very
little in the past decade, even after gathering and reading all the online reports
and compiling a quick summary of how this effects the Native communities in
1999. (15) The most timely reports released this year
were:
 | October '99: Native Americans and the Digital Divide - Benton Foundation's
Digital Beat (13) |
| July '99: Falling Through the Net III - NTIA (10) |
| July '99: Assessing Technology Infrastructure Needs of Native American Communities
- U.S. Commerce Department (6) |
| July '99 - Digital Council Fires Conference Findings - National Indian Telecommunications
Institute (NITI) (20) |
| April '99: Native Networking: Telecommunications and Information Technology
in Indian Country - Benton Foundation (5) |
These reports basically came up with the common information
that the Natives have known for years, it just put it in official documents
so hopefully that the federal agencies would fund the activities or recommendations
suggested in these reports. (8, 9,
10)
Barriers Identified
A sampling of the 1999 barriers identified include: a)
a distrust on the part of some Native Americans of specific new technologies,
(1, 2, 4, 5,
6, 7, 12, 13,
21, 22, 23)
b) The geographic remoteness that raises the cost of providing technology
has always affected rural communities, (2, 3,
4, 5, 6, 8,
10, 11, 12) c)
but especially affects native communities that have a generally weak economic
base that prevents Native communities from investing in infrastructure (1,
2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 8, 11, 12,
13, 14, 19,
20, 21, 22,
23) and d) upgrading the worker skills needed
to support modern technology infrastructure (1, 2,
3, 5, 6, 7,
21, 20, 22,
23) e) creates lack of private investment
on tribal lands. (1, 2, 3,
4, 5, 6, 10,
11, 12, 13,
15, 19, 21)
and f) the poor information regarding the availability of federal assistance
leads to weaknesses in specific government policies intended to help Native
communities improve their technology infrastructure. (1,
2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 10, 11, 12,
15, 19, 20,
22)
Examples of major barriers identified as far back as 1993 also
concluded that: a) a majority of American Indians do not have equal opportunities
to be part of the nation's emerging "Information Highway" infrastructure.
(2, 3, 4, 6,
8, 9, 10, 11,
12, 13, 15,
19, 20, 21,
22, 23) b) There
was no means of protecting the rights of Native American intellectual property
owners who distribute their work existing telecommunications systems due to
the lack of telecommunications opportunities (1, 2,
3, 4, 5, 6,
8, 11, 12,
13, 14, 19,
20, 21, 22,
23) c) that affected both access to information
and education opportunity for Indian child, youth, and adults. ( 2,
5, 6, 9, 11,
12, 15, 19,
20, 21, 23)
The most obvious obstacle at the beginning of the decade, as well as today,
is d) that American Indian-owned telecommunications systems that are
emerging are developing in a parallel rather than collaborative way lead to
cooperative efforts of existing American Indian telecommunications service providers
becoming committed to the development of a coordinated Native American Telecommunications
System, (2, 3, 5,
6, 7,
8, 11, 12,
15, 18, 20)
e) but lack the resources to assure quality development and the collaboration
necessary. (2, 5, 6,
9, 11, 12, 13,
15, 19, 20,
21, 23) These were the major
barriers identified in 1993, but there were 67 issues identified that needed
resolve. There were also 35 different options identified that would address
these issues. (2)
Common Obstacle: Infrastructure
The obstacles in the previous reports and the reports sent
out over the last year, at least for the Natives, are basically near the same
issues. It has been noted that the lack of infrastructure is a major problem.
(1, 2, 3, 4,
5, 6, 8, 11,
12, 13, 14,
19, 20, 21,
22, 23) Well infrastructure,
especially telecommunications infrastructure is still on the minds of all Natives.
(22) The "digital divide" in Native Country
runs right through our their own reservations.
i.e. The main telecommunications artery for the
southwest runs parallel with the Rio Grande river. The telecommunications
artery similar to the 'Silicon Valley' is generally referred to as the "Rio
Grande Corridor." (RGC) Along the Rio Grande River are the Pueblo's reservations.
The RGC runs through these reservations and of course, How many of them have
access to the RGC? Zero. Even though the lines run right through their reservations,
they do not have access to them. Why not? Is the cost too prohibitive
to put digital centers there? And even if digital centers were put in, there
may be no phones in the Pueblos, so access to the RGC would do them no good?
(Evans Craig, 1995)
There are vast regions that do not have network access. (3,
5, 6, 9, 10,
11, 12, 15,
19, 20) Does it make sense to
have state or federal legislation to require telecommunication companies to
guarantee in their service agreement access to network infrastructure for remote
and isolated areas, such as Tribes in the southwest. ( 4
) A national policy on connectivity may be roughly initiated by looking at existing
connectivity maps of Internet coverage such as, www.internettrafficreport.com
or www.statmarket.com or www.cyberatlas.internet.com.
Local communities can also do their part to make themselves attractive and incentivize
telecommunication corporations to provide access. ( 22
) Up-to-date statistics and demographic data about Natives Americans telecommunications
infrastructure and their access to the WWW are in these reports. ( 5,
6, 10, 13, 20
) There is quite a bit of information available, but the question is: Is there
anyone listening at the other end willing and able to do something about access
for all? ( 5, 6, 22
)
Yes, "no infrastructure" means that no matter what
types of learning is accomplished through telecommunications technologies, the
Natives do not have access to it. Why are they missing out on these learning
opportunities? ( 22 )
Common Obstacle: Training
Just to get back to basic needs, Science, Math, Engineering
& Technology (SMET) Courses are needed since it has been noticed that most
reservation schools do not teach mathematics beyond Algebra I. ( 1,
2, 7, 21) Courses
not offered include Trigonometry or even Algebra II, and, of course, Calculus.
In Technology and Connectivity arena, lack of parental involvement was identified.
( 2, 17, 18,
21, 23 ) The most important
use of information technology today is to improve education for all students,
and educators have a great opportunity to enhance the ways students think and
learn by taking advantage of computer-based technology. (20,
22, 23)
Well applied, relevant, computer based technology's (CBT) can
help students apply technology to everyday life. (20,
22, 23) The CBT’s are
a great help in teaching technology, but just making them available, such as
distributing through an Internet web site, isn't the answer. If it were as simple
as that, then the rural schools, as most urban schools, would be able to participate
in all the technology available today. ( 22 )
By recognition of teaching and on teaching minorities it was
noted that several of the problems in valuing teaching vs. research and publications
are present in predominantly minority institutions as well as they are in most
other institutions. One of the real declines in IT learning is due to the low
number of students applying for graduate work during a booming technical economy.
So by using Distance Education as an Internet Course for Advance Placement,
it seems that Universities are using the Internet mostly as a backup and supplement
to classroom instruction, but not as a stand-alone teaching tool.
That is why there are not very many Native Information Technology
(IT) professionals. Even today, if a Native picks IT as a profession and they
want to go back home to their reservation, they may or may not be able to find
a job there. Even as an Internet Consultant, they can find a job, but can they
raise a family on $35K a year. (Navajo Times classified, 1999) That is high
for the reservation, but an Internet Consultant can get $100K in LA. (LA Times
classified, 1999) Even off the reservation and in a nearby town, an Internet
Consultant is somewhere between $35K & $100K a year. (Albuquerque Journal
classified, 1999) A Native Consultant just wants to be able to work back home
on the reservation and certainly not in LA making big bucks. An Internet Consultant
working in the nearby city of Albuquerque, NM, is part of the 'HAVES,' ( 8,
9, 10 ) yet if the Consultant is back
home on the reservation, they become part of the 'HAVE NOTS.' ( 8,
9, 10 ) That is the price "Natives"
have to pay! (8, 13)
Summary
Utilizing the Native American Distance Education Community
Websites’ fourteen online reports, the most commonly identified barriers
for Native communities are:
- American Indians do not have equal opportunities to be part of the nation's
emerging "Information Highway" infrastructure. ( 2,
3, 4, 6, 8,
9, 10, 11, 12,
13, 15, 19,
20, 21, 22,
23)
- Native communities that have a generally weak economic base that prevents
them from investing in the prohibitive costs of building the technology infrastructure
. (1, 2, 3, 4,
5, 6, 8, 11,
12, 13, 14,
19, 20, 21,
22, 23) and creates lack
of private investment on tribal lands (1, 2,
3, 4, 5, 6,
10, 11, 12,
13, 15, 19,
21)
- The poor information regarding the availability of federal assistance leads
to weaknesses in specific government policies intended to help Native communities
improve their technology infrastructure. (1, 2,
3, 4, 5, 6,
10, 11, 12,
15, 19, 20,
22)
- Native communities have a lack of training on how to use the technologies
(1, 2, 3, 5,
6, 7, 21,
20, 22, 23)
and have difficulty upgrading the worker skills needed to support modern technology
infrastructure ( 1, 2, 3,
5, 6, 7, 21,
20, 22, 23)
- Native communities have difficulty attaining the education on how and what
to select as the technologies to meet specific tribal development needs. (1,
2, 4, 5, 6,
7, 12, 13,
21, 22, 23)
- Federal law/policy which excludes Native communities from accessing funding
and programs. (2, 3, 4,
5, 6, 7, 19,
23)
- Tribal right of way issues. (2, 5,
6, 11)
- Tribal, state and federal approval processes keep Native Communities from
overcoming the obstacles. (2, 3, 4,
5, 6, 19)
Some identified solutions to overcoming the above-identified
obstacles are simply put:
- The government agencies should start working together to collaboratively
address the obstacles, then overcoming the barriers will not be such a daunting
task. (2, 5, 6,
7, 8, 12 13,
15, 17, 18)
- The Tribes will be then able to control the terms under which the new services
are introduced to their communities. (4, 13,
18)
- This lack of connectivity documented in Native Communities is misrepresented
only by the large amount of connectivity via Community Centers in reservation
schools. (8, 18)
- These reports all can be used simultaneously to show Tribes, Native businesses,
and schools how to overcome these obstacles and use these resource reports
efficiently. (6, 15, 18)
Online Bibliography
- American Indian
Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), Tribal Colleges: An Introduction,
Feb. 1996
http://www.ahpcc.unm.edu/Alliance/Community/TCintro.pdf
- Americans for Indian Opportunity (AIO), First Native
American Telecommunications Forum, National Science Foundation, Feb. 1994
http://indiannet.org/past.html
- Edward J. Malecki, Telecommunications for Rural Development
- Telecommunications Technology and American Rural Development in the
21st Century, University of Florida, July, 1996
http://www.devmedia.org/Category.cfm?Category=42
http://www.rural.org/workshops/rural_telecom/malecki/
- Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Telecommunications
Act of 1996, Pub. LA. No. 104-104, 110 Stat. 56 (1996)
http://www.fcc.gov/telecom.html
- James Casey, Randy Ross, and Marcia Warren,
Native Networking: Telecommunications & Information Technology
in Indian Country - A Report on The Status And Resources of Telecommunications
and Technology Activity in Indian Country Today, Benton Foundation, April
1999
http://www.benton.org/Library/Native/
- Linda Ann Riley, Ph.D., Bahram Nassersharif, Ph.D., John
Mullen, Ph.D., Assessing Technology Infrastructure Needs of Native American
Communities, New Mexico State University and U.S. Department of Commerce,
July 1999
http://alpha.nmsu.edu/~tech/
- Mark Trebian, Tribal College High Performance Computing
Initiative, Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College, July 1999
http://www.interact.nsf.gov/cise/itminorities.nsf/aac7d56ca8fd884b852563be00610639/
7c5ba2cb93a0afd285256833007d8881?OpenDocument
- National Telecommunications and Information Administration
(NTIA), Falling Through The Net III: Defining the Digital Divide -
A Report on the Telecommunications and Information Technology Gap in America,
U.S. Department of Commerce, July 1999
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/digitaldivide/
- National Telecommunications and Information Administration(NTIA),
Falling through The Net II: New Data on the Digital Divide - A Survey
of the "Haves" & "Have Nots" in 1997, U.S. Department
of Commerce, July 1998
www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/net2/falling.htm
- National Telecommunications and Information Administration(NTIA),
Falling Through The Net I: A Survey of the "Have Nots" in
Rural and Urban America., U.S. Department of Commerce, July 1995
www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fallingthru.html
- National Telecommunications and Information Administration
(NTIA), The Survey of Rural Information Infrastructure Technologies,
U.S. Department of Commerce, Oct. 1998
http://www.its.bldrdoc.gov/its/spectrum/rural/ruralrep.html
- Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), Telecommunications
Technology and Native Americans, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Aug. 1995
www.wws.princeton.edu:80/~ota/ns20/year_f.html
- Rachel Anderson, Native Americans and the Digital
Divide, Benton Foundations' Digital Beat - Vol. 1, No. 17, 14 October
1999
http://www.benton.org/DigitalBeat/db101499.html
Online papers
- Brian Beaton,
Connecting Remote First Nations To The Internet, Partnerships &
Participation in Telecommunications for Rural Development: Exploring What
Works and Why Conference, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada,
October, 1998
http://www.devmedia.org/documents/Beaton.htm
- Evans Craig, Information Technology Report's That
May Affect Our Tribal Communities - Information Technologies Among Native
Communities, Native American Distance Education Community website, Albuquerque
High Performance Computing Center, July 1999
http://www.ahpcc.unm.edu/Alliance/Tribal/ITREPORT/index.htm
- Evans Craig, Tribal College Internet Status,
Tribal Computational Science Program website, Albuquerque High Performance
Computing Center, March 1999
http://www.ahpcc.unm.edu/Alliance/Tribal/AIHEC_status/AIHEC_Status99.html
- National Computational Science Alliance, Native
American Seminar Emphasizes Use of New Technologies, ACCESS Briefs, Sept.
1999
http://access.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Briefs/990907.AIHECSeminar.html
- Ron Aust, Brian Newberry, & Paul Resta, Internet
Strategies for Empowering Indigenous Communities in Teaching and Learning,
U.S. Department of Education, June 1996
http://www.4directions.org/legacy/Resources/INET96.html
Online groups
- Department
of Education, White House Initiative on Tribal Colleges and Universities,
Feb., 1998
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OVAE/TribalCol/index.html
- National Indian Telecommunications Institute (NITI),
Digital Council Fires : A Native American Telecommunications Conference,
June 1999
http://www.digitalcouncilfires.org/
- National Science Foundation, Electronic Pathways,
Oct. 1994
http://hanksville.phast.umass.edu:80/defs/independent/ElecPath/elecpath.html
- National Science Foundation, Underrepresented
Minorities in Information Technology: A Cyberconference, Oct. 1999
http://www.cise.nsf.gov/itminorities.html
- Native American Distance Education Community,
UNM/AHPCC: A National Computational Science Alliance Project, Dec.,
1999
http://www.eot.ahpcc.unm.edu/Community/
Appendix A:
Online Reports affecting Native Communities
The following online reports are presented by date, summarized with barriers
identified, and a conclusion stated:
1) Native Americans and the Digital Divide - October 14, 1999
In this Benton Foundation publication, Digital Beat focuses on the Native
American population by describing the current state of telecommunications
in Indian Country, exploring some of the complex challenges that tribes faces
as they attempt to introduce and improve services on reservations, and discussing
current efforts to help bring service to reservations.
Barriers identified:
| Lack of Data and Understanding - The lack of recent and reliable
data on telecommunications services in Indian Country presents a formidable
barrier to the successful elimination of the technology gap for Native Americans.
|
| Culture and Identity - Some telephone carriers have questioned if
culture is as significant a barrier to telephone subscribership on reservations
as cost and infrastructure are. Native advocates respond to this charge by
highlighting the great lengths that some reservations have gone to bring communication
technology to their communities. |
| Tribal Sovereignty - All initiatives to improve the access to telecommunications
on reservations -- be they federal, state or private -- must be consistent
with principles of tribal sovereignty, the federal trust relationship and
support for tribal self-determination. |
Conclusion
Because telecommunications in Indian Country is impacted by a myriad of issues,
no one solution alone will close the technology gap. A complex set of geographic,
economic, and social factors must be considered when examining the state of
telecommunications technologies on reservations. The Department of Commerce's
Assessment of Technology Infrastructure in Native Communities explains how
these factors can compound one another: "Today, many Native communities
find themselves in a vicious circle where their weak economic base makes it
difficult to support infrastructure investment, and the poor state of their
infrastructure undermines successful economic development." To ensure
that telecommunications technologies are deployed in a manner that best meets
the needs of individual tribes, it is essential that:
| Communities focus on the developing telecommunications services as they
work on alleviating social and economic problems. |
| Tribes are addressing questions of cultural preservation and identity. |
| Tribes decide what role communication technologies should play in the exchange
of information and perpetuation of culture. |
| Tribes control the terms under which new services are introduced in their
communities. |
2) Falling Through The Net III: Defining the Digital Divide - July 8, 1999
A Report on the Telecommunications and Information Technology Gap in America
shows that while the number of Americans connected to the Internet is soaring,
the gap between whites and minorities using new technology is widening. Most
troubling for government experts were indications that the disparities are
not based solely on income.
Barriers identified:
| For telephone penetration, rural Native American households (76.4%)
rank far below the national average (94.1%). |
| Rural Native American households' access to computers (26.8%) is
also lower than the national average (42.1%) |
| Overall, Native Americans are also behind in their access to the Internet
(18.9%), compared to the national average (26.2%). |
Conclusion:
Like many other minority groups, Native Americans are not able to access
the important information resources via computers and on the Internet that
are quickly becoming essential for success. In the past, because of small
sample sizes, it has been hard to pinpoint Native Americans' access to new
technologies. The third Falling Through the Net report, however, has provided
enough information to show that:
 | Native Americans, like Blacks and Hispanics, are, in fact, suffering from
a lack of connectivity. |
| Their propensity to use the Internet outside the home, though, underscores
the importance of making more community access centers available. |
3) Assessing Technology Infrastructure Needs of Native American Communities
- October 14, 1999
The Commerce Department completed this presidential mandated study and New
Mexico State University is hosting the project site. The Economic Development
Administration study identifies and describes the challenges and barriers
to technology infrastructure development in American Indian and Alaska Native
communities as well as proposing further solutions for overcoming challenges.
Barriers identified:
All of these Native communities face one or more of the following challenges
in developing their technological infrastructure:
| Lack of a strong economic base that inhibits private
investment and skills development |
| Geographical remoteness and terrain which raises
the cost of providing technology infrastructure |
| Native distrust of new technologies and federal
assistance |
| Lack of a comprehensive, integrated, interagency
Native American technology infrastructure investment strategy |
| Federal policy that fails to consider the severity
of the technology gap faced by Native American |
| Inadequate information on the part of Native Americans
regarding opportunities and assistance available |
| Insufficient strategic planning by tribes. |
Conclusion:
Real solutions must look beyond what any single administration or private
partnership can hope to achieve.
| Long-term strategic planning with tribal and community-based participation.
This is essential to ensure that these strategies will reflect the wide variety
of tribal needs and goals, and support sustainable tribal development. |
| To secure the participation and cooperation of private utilities and service
providers as part of the development and implementation of these strategies
|
| State and county governments, particularly in rural areas, should be encouraged
to work cooperatively with tribal governments to ensure that the infrastructure
of tribal and non-tribal communities are complete and seamless across political
boundaries. |
| There must be a consistent federal investment strategy
for tribal communities, with an emphasis on encouraging private investment
necessary to provide the fundamental services needed to support information
technologies. Among these are: |
- power and phone lines, fiber optics, and communications
satellite coverage;
- resources must be provided to enable tribes to
develop the infrastructure essential to economic and business development;
- the federal government must improve the efficiency
of its own program delivery to tribal communities, expand the types of programs
available to tribes, and better communicate program availability to tribes;
- the government must work to support tribally-directed
economic growth by strengthening tribal sovereignty.
4) Native Networking: Telecommunications and Information Technology in Indian
Country - September, 1999
A report out of the Benton Foundation, which analyzes the critical telecommunications
and information technology policy issues facing tribes. It reports on the
status and resources of telecommunications and technology activity in Indian
Country today.
Barriers identified:
| There are still many Tribes that do not have the funding, the manpower,
the time, or the information to get involved with telecommunications and technology.
|
| Tribes are taking more time and effort waiting for new social structures
of Native technical experts, which are just beginning to form, to mature. |
Conclusion:
For the first time in history, Indians have the knowledge, the tools, and
political support to succeed. They recognize and are willing to utilize telecommunications
and information technology for future growth and are actually looking for
ways to acquire the level of technological infrastructure to ensure their
success on the Information Superhighway. This report shows how Tribes,
Native Businesses, Schools and Organizations can use this resource report:
| Incorporate technology & telecommunications into your overall goals
and functions; |
| Evaluate the existing telecomm and technology infrastructure; |
| Create a list of priorities for the products & services you need;
|
| Develop a budget & timeline |
| Use the resources in this report; |
| Identify barriers or issues; |
| Create a network of people, businesses, schools, & organizations. |
5) Digital Council Fires Findings - July, 1999
The National Indian Telecommunications Institute is a dynamic, Native-founded
and run organization dedicated to using the power of electronic technologies
to provide American Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaskan Native communities
with extensive educational tools, equal opportunity and a strong voice in
self-determination.
Barriers identified:
| Telecommunications access is a life and death issue on reservations.
911 access is not available and you can’t call tribal police in an emergency.
|
| The vast majority of Indians do not have the access to telecommunications
service that other Americans have thus the telecommunications act must
have a special codicil for connecting Indians. |
| Indians use telecommunications differently from other Americans.
i.e. to publish true accounts/history of their tribe or build virtual tribal
communities, rather than E commerce or to find information |
| Educating government about Indians is an on-going effort. Government
has very little awareness or understanding of the problems Indians face with
telecommunications or about Indians at all. Many agencies and officials do
not understand the government to government relationship the Tribes have with
the United States. |
| Tribes are not aware of special government programs & opportunities
that exist for rural communities to get or improve telecommunications access.
They are often demoralized and accustomed to not having service and have
no idea that government can help them with telecommunication companies. |
| Annual Indian telecommunications conferences are necessary to give
Indian Tribes and organizations the forum to discuss their problems or successes
and for government to hear and provide solutions for these problems and/or
track the successes brought about by their initiatives. |
Conclusion:
We must support legislation and special rules that are proposed for the
Tribes. The special relationship between the United States and Indian
Tribes require different rules/laws to apply to Indians in regards to telecom.
If Tribes know what other Tribes are doing with telecommunications they
can collaborate on projects together for less money and resources for
bigger and better projects. A group of Tribal entities that work on telecom.
issues has a greater impact than individual Tribes. Cultural appropriation
of tribal names and symbols cannot be tolerated on the Internet. Case
law in advertising and product names have gone against Indians, but the war
against cultural appropriation on the Internet has not been fought so has
the possibility of being won. A resource organization for Indian telecommunications
must be created to implement the wishes of the Indian telecommunications
group. This organization could inform Tribes, federal agencies, state and
federal government, and foundations interested in funding Indian projects
about Indian telecommunications issues, i.e., act as an information clearinghouse.
The resource organization could also organize efforts proposed by the Indian
telecommunications group and provide and act as an administrator.
6) The Survey of Rural Information Infrastructure Technologies. - October,
1998
A report prepared by NTIA's Institute for Telecommunication Sciences, it
provides a comprehensive analysis of the availability of telecommunications
technologies that can be deployed economically in rural areas. We believe
the following four goals are essential to promote universal and equitable
access to the NII:
| preservation and advancement of the concept of universal service; |
| promotion of community partnerships; |
| continued support for universities and research institutions; |
| outreach to underserved communities. |
We need to ensure that inner city and rural residents are informed about
the opportunities that exist and the best ways of harnessing them for their
communities. These communities need to know what technologies and applications
are available, what existing infrastructure they have and need, and what has
worked for similar communities. The following general conclusions can be drawn
concerning the development of the RII:
| It is desirable to have access to telecommunication services in rural areas
that approaches that available in urban areas. |
| The effects of deregulation on rural areas are less certain than on urban
areas and should be carefully watched by regulators. Rural areas may not be
able to support several competitive service providers. Multiprovider markets
should be developed wherever feasible in both urban and rural areas as a means
to reduce costs and spur innovation. Where a given market fails and only a
monopoly service provider exists, policymakers should prescribe appropriate
regulations to protect the public interest. |
| Historically, the deployment of telecommunication capabilities in rural
areas has been delayed relative to deployment in urban areas. This has been
due to the inability of rural areas to compete with urban areas for capital,
since rural areas do not offer as high a return on investment. Telephone cooperatives
have proven to be effective in accelerating the deployment of new technology.
Telecommunication cooperatives could be an effective way of reaching rural
areas with the NII. |
| Government regulations and policies will play an essential role in the development
of the RII. Different regulations and policies will likely be required in
rural areas than in urban areas. |
| The technical deployment of advanced telecommunication capabilities may
not be very different in small towns than it is in urban areas. Reaching isolated
homes and businesses in farming areas and especially remote desert and wilderness
areas will be difficult, and will require technology deployments different
from that in urban areas. |
| The distances involved in living in rural areas increase the benefit and
therefore value of telecommunication services. Telecommunication enables applications
such as distance learning that can alleviate or eliminate some rural disadvantages.
Telecommunication can make rural areas more attractive for some businesses
and result in revitalization of the rural economy. |
| Distance and low population density are the distinctive features of rural
areas affecting telecommunications. These factors increase the costs of providing
telecommunication services. In addition, systems and technologies developed
for urban areas may be less than optimal for rural areas. |
| No technologies presently support all of the video telecommunication services.
Video programming is provided in rural areas by terrestrial broadcasting,
cable TV, and satellite broadcasting. In more remote regions, however, only
satellite broadcasting provides video programming on a par with that available
in urban areas. Video conferencing can be provided over switched digital circuits
or narrow-band ISDN and is available in some rural areas. Video on demand
and interactive video are planned but will be provided by select technologies
that probably cannot economically reach farms, ranches, and isolated homes.
|
| It is likely that new technology will need to be developed to economically
deliver advanced computer networking and video services to individual farms,
ranches, and isolated homes. A wireless technology will most likely be required,
and certainly the most remote users can only be reached by wireless technology. |
Conclusion:
The following conclusions can be drawn concerning the assessment of technologies
to support the RII:
| Numerous technologies can support all of the voice and audio telecommunication
services. In many cases, those technologies are available to rural consumers
today and competition by various providers may be viable. |
| Numerous technologies are available in rural areas to provide low-speed
computer networking service, such as dial-up access to computer networks via
the PSTN. As demand increases for faster transmission speeds, current implementations
of technologies will prove inadequate to meet that demand. |
| High-speed and very-high speed computer networking services could effectively
support the transmission of voice, data, and video information. Theoretically,
a single infrastructure could be used to extend the NII into rural areas.
Technical, regulatory, and economic barriers, however, may render this impractical.
|
7) Connecting Remote First Nations To The Internet - October, 1998
In the remote regions of Northern Ontario, Canada, where telephone connections
are limited, and local Internet providers are non-existent, isolated First
Nations have enhanced communication services via K-Net since 1994.
Barriers identified:
| Lack of Data and Understanding - The lack of recent and reliable
data on |
| Conclusion: |
8) Telecommunications Technology and American Rural Development in the 21st
Century- July, 1996
The positive view is that greater access is provided by mobile technologies
to rural areas, thereby reducing the relative concentration of communication
capability in large cities.
Barriers identified:
| "rural penalty" of continuing concentration of the newest and
most advanced technology in large cities |
The "rural penalty" stems from three factors:
- lower population densities,
- the distance of rural communities from urban centers,
- economic specialization in sectors other than information- or knowledge-intensive
ones.
| combined with the presence of large corporations whose demand for telecommunications
technology ensures that they will not be deprived in the near future. |
The three key characteristics of rural areas that put them at a disadvantage
in economic development are:
- small scale and low density,
- economic specialization in low-wage, low-skill jobs,
- remoteness.
9) Internet Strategies for Empowering Indigenous Communities in Teaching
and Learning - June 27, 1996
Describes goals and strategies associated with the Four Directions initiative,
which is one of 19 Technology Learning Challenge projects recently supported
by the U.S. Department of Education. The focus is on systemic strategies,
which use the Internet to improve communication, both across and within the
schools, while strengthening the local community's unique traditions and perspectives.
The 4Directions consortia is achieving this through:
| building on local cultures and values; |
| collaborating using Internet activities across sites through on-site training,
on-line |
| tutoring, and cooperative teaming; |
| creating networked "virtual communities" with Internet teleconferencing;
|
| encouraging life-long learning by extending Internet access into surrounding
communities; |
| maintaining and extending a network database of teaching, assessment,
professional development, and student created resources organized by Goals
for American Indians, Alaskan Natives and national standards; and |
| creating a research based evaluation model. |
| Lack of Data and Understanding - The lack of recent and reliable
data on |
| Conclusion: |
10) Telecommunications Technology and Native Americans : Opportunities and
Challenges - 1995 - August, 1995
Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) conduct a Nationwide Assessment of
Native Americans and Technology
Telecommunications technology offers many opportunities to help Native Americans
deepen their cultural roots, empower their communities, strengthen Native
governments, and address daunting challenges such as very high unemployment
and poverty rates and poor health conditions.
Barriers identified:
The promise of telecommunications is by no means assured, however:
| If Native Americans, collectively, do not gain better understanding and
control of this technology, the result could be to further undermine Native
culture, community, sovereignty, and self-determination. |
| No single technological solution will address Native American needs.
A variety of technologies, working together or complementing one another,
will best meet their diverse needs. Computer networking, satellite videoconferencing,
computers and software, faxes, digital switching, broadcast radio, cable TV,
and cellular or wireless communications all have a role to play. |
| Basic telephone service is important because many (perhaps as much
as one-half) rural Native homes do not have a telephone today. |
| Conclusion: |
Two possibilities are speculated on:
An Optimistic Year 2000 Scenario - where maybe in ten years:
| Distance education and telemedicine provide widespread access
to a range of educational and medical information and services not otherwise
available or affordable. |
| Schools, libraries, community service centers, and family wellness
clinics broaden access to technology-enhanced services. |
| Telecommunications helps stimulate economic development in Native
areas. Telecommunications is used to: |
- create jobs in Native-owned telephone, computer, broadcasting,
and related companies;
- market Native-produced arts and crafts electronically;
- develop and promote tourist and recreational activities on or
near Native lands;
- provide expertise and competitive skills to Native entrepreneurs;
- provide infrastructure for business startups in Native areas;
- manage Native land and natural and financial resources.
| Telecommunications technology allows Native Americans to share and
broaden their culture electronically within and among Native communities.
|
| Native governments receive federal and states services electronically
and deliver services electronically to tribal or village members where
appropriate. |
An Pessimistic Year 2000 Scenario - where maybe in ten years:
| The inadequacies of rural Native American economies and telecommunications
infrastructure continue to prove too great to overcome. |
| Unemployment rates still exceed 50 percent on many Indian reservations
and in most Alaska Native villages, contributing to continuing family, health,
and substance abuse problems. |
| Most reservations and villages still have weak economies that
make generating or attracting investment capital difficult. |
| American Indians continue to be the most disadvantaged in the United
States with regard to basic telephone service. In the year 2000, about
one-half of American Indian homes in rural areas still do not have any telephone
service, far below nationwide averages, reflecting continuing infrastructure
deficiencies, low family income, and, in some cases, cultural preferences.
|
| The lack of Native leadership on telecommunications continues
to limit efforts to plan for and implement infrastructure improvements.
The vast majority of tribes, reservations, villages, and island communities
still do not have a telecommunications strategy or a process in place for
developing a strategy or plan. |
| The absence of federal policy or coordination on Native American telecommunications
continues through the year 2000, thereby curtailing the policy implications
still exceed 50 percent on many Indian reservations development of an appropriate
and effective federal role. |
| The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) still does not have a
Native American policy, nor has it applied the framework of federal
Indian law to telecommunications. |
The lack of infrastructure, leadership, planning, funding, and policy means-under
this pessimistic scenario—that many of the rural, remote Native areas
are left on the sidelines of the telecommunications revolution. Without meaningful
and extensive Native involvement, telecommunications ends up further undermining
Native culture and values and disenfranchising, rather than empowering, Native
Americans.
11) First Native American Telecommunications Forum 1993
Americans for Indian Opportunity (AIO) hosted the First Native American Telecommunications
Forum, funded by the National Science Foundation. AIO pulled together a group
of key Native American stakeholders to facilitate an ongoing articulation
of the issues that needed to be addressed, options for addressing them, and
appropriate roles and responsibilities for initiating a concrete action plan.
Eighteen Native American telecommunication-related organizations and twelve
supporting organizations set a precedent as being the most comprehensive group
of specialists at that time to address the broad spectrum of Native American
telecommunications needs. Major findings supported the need for opportunity
and resources for American Indian people to fully access the Information Highway.
Barriers identified:
| The majority of American Indians do not have equal opportunities to be part
of the nation's emerging "Information Highway" infrastructure; |
| There is currently no means of protecting the rights of Native American
intellectual property owners who distribute their work existing telecommunications
systems; |
| Lack of telecommunications opportunities affect both access to information
and education opportunity for Indian child, youth, and adults; |
| American Indian-owned telecommunications systems that are emerging are developing
in a parallel rather than collaborative way; |
| Existing American Indian telecommunications service providers are committed
to the development of a coordinated Native American Telecommunications System,
but lack the resources to assure quality development and the collaboration
necessary. |
Conclusion:
The group developed a specific work plan that could of lead to the development
of a coordinated Native American Telecommunications Systems.
| The recommended options called for immediately establishing a national
organization with a core support group. |
| Special Interest Groups (SIG) were identified to approach specific Native
American expertise. |
| The first step initiated was to launch an electronic forum and e-mail
link on IndianNet for the forum participants along with an action item calendar
tracking the joint activities. |
| Tribal American must be the one who takes the lead in developing and managing
a comprehensive information system that describes them and the world that
they live in. |
| A coordinated set of activities must be set in to action so that all Native
America can participate in the widest possible set of telecommunications
services. |
12) White House Initiative on Tribal Colleges and Universities October 14,
1999
Executive Order 13021 articulates six goals for the White House Initiative
on Tribal Colleges and Universities:
| Recognition & Participation: ensure that tribal colleges are
more fully recognized as accredited institutions and that they have access
to opportunities afforded to other higher education institutions. |
| Resource Streams: ensure that federal resources are committed to
tribal colleges on an ongoing basis and that mechanisms are established for
increasing access by the tribal colleges to federal resources. |
| Educational Opportunity: promote access to high-quality educational
opportunities for economically disadvantaged students. |
| Native Culture & Language: promote preservation and revitalization
of native languages and cultures. |
| Linkages in Education System: encourage innovative linkages between
the tribal colleges, early childhood programs and elementary and high schools.
|
| National Education Goals: support the national education goals. |
Conclusion:
To achieve the six goals, the Executive Order calls for a 3-part strategy:
| A Presidential Advisory Board on Tribal Colleges and Universities; |
| The Office of the White House Initiative on Tribal Colleges and Universities;
|
| A Coordinated federal 5-year strategic plan. |
Priorities of The Tribal Colleges are identified as:
| Funding, particularly core funding for operations and other Tribal College
programs; |
| Institutional development; |
| Tribal sovereignty and community self-sufficiency; |
| Capital development, particularly facilities renovation and construction;
and |
| Private sector involvement. |
13) Electronic Pathways 1994
A national alliance whose primary mission is to enhance the quality of life
for Native Americans through increased use of technology to facilitate communication
and learning to ensure that underrepresented and underserved individuals,
schools and communities have equal access and opportunity to fully participate
in the advantages of today's technological and information age, with a particular
emphasis on Mathematics and science educational reform as well as career development.
Home of the "Native American Community Alliance and Technology Project"
whose pilot sites technology capabilities was assessed and common themes among
the Pilot Sites needs are identified.
Barriers identified:
| the need for technology training for educators and business people |
| the need for developing comprehensive plans and effectively utilizing available
resources |
Conclusion:
Development of a booklet titled "Community-School Alliances for Multicultural
Environments: Creating Effective Educational Reforms" was completed in
1997. This 42-page booklet describes aspects associated with Alliances and
science, mathematics and technology reforms including:
| Developing Community-School Alliances (i.e., Collaboration, Preparation,
Communication, Membership and Commitment) |
| Effective Educational Reform Practices (e.g., Cooperative Learning, Constructivism
Education, Problem-solving, Appropriate Uses of Technology) |
| Recognizing and Confronting Barriers to Effective Education (Mathematics,
Science, Technology) |
| Effective Uses of Technology in Educational Reforms |
| How to Evaluate Alliances and Educational Reforms |
| Sample Technology Needs-Assessment in Mathematics/Science Education |
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