"There are parts of the U.S. that do not have broadband service at
all... I think we have a clear role for government to play in terms
of filling that gap."
-- Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va)
The above quote from Benton Headlines. Those of us who travel widely in the
rural parts of the country may see this up close and personal as we try to keep
up with our email.
My brother was traveling to Africa, and interestingly enough, he was able to
send email every day, and sometimes pictures. The digital divide is very
uneven, .. and you could say to me, well he was probably in big cities. But the
email describing the baboons that took their sandwiches was from a very small
place in Africa. Yet I have gone to gasoline stations in Namibia to be able
to
send a post.
America's 50 states have populations rural and tribal who are touched by the
installation of infrastructure. My friend Ferdi Serim is working with the
Navajo as they install wireless.
Native American culture preservation and access to ICT
Karen Buller, President and CEO, National Indian Telecommunications Institute
Background
"The History of telecom in Indian Country is a story of deprivation. To
illustrate let me tell you a true story. When phone service first came to
North
Dakota, copper lines were dragged over Indian lands to get to White customers.
My friend Carol Davis of Turtle Mountain Chippewa tribe told me about how
her grandmother desired telephone service, but was ignored by the service
provider. In fact their phone company routinely pulled cable over her front
yard
to get to white customers. After many requests and many rejections from the
phone company, Carol's grandmother devised a plan. Every morning she took a
large scissors to her front yard and cut the phone wire. It took several
times of doing this before she finally received phone service too. I am proud
that
this brave little-old-lady found a way to get phone service when Native
Americans were being ignored. It has not been so easy for other Native
Americans
to obtain phone service."
.
" There are over 2 million Native Americans in the United States.
An important background note for non-Indians is to recognize the diversity with
the North American continent of Native Americans. Today there are over 562
federally recognized tribes in the Unites States. They are each sovereign
nations with treaty rights. Before Europeans came, there were many more. Just
as one would not lump all Europeans together as one of mind or spirit, neither
can one lump all Native tribes together. The tribes of North America have
different languages, foods and religions. To lump Tribes of the United States
together would be like saying Italians are the same as Swedes because they
are both Europeans. The differences are great."
"Don't expect diverse tribes to have the same opinions or ideas. Also
telecommunications solutions will by necessity vary widely due the different
geographic situations. For example a solution that is affordable in the
plains may
not even work in the mountains. Tribal diversity and geography must be taken
into account when examining business and telecommunications solutions."
So this is one of the tribal tales for your understanding. It is from Karen's
chapter on Indian Telecommunications.
Bonnie Bracey Sutton
bbracey at aol com
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