From: "U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Wed,
Dear Friend: I thought you might be interested in my testimony on tribal communications policy during a recent hearing. I would, of course, be happy to hear from you regarding this or any other matter. Sincerely, Barbara Boxer United States Senator Statement of U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Tribal Telecommunications Policy May 14, 2002 I want to thank the leaders of both the Commerce and Indian Affairs committees for holding this hearing on tribal telecommunications. I want to welcome all of our witnesses and look forward to their testimony. I want to especially welcome Sue Masten, Chair of the Yurok Tribe in Northern California. The Yurok tribe is the largest tribe in my state and the Yurok Reservation is located in a rural, remote area of Northern California. I have had the pleasure of working with Sue on a number of issues, and am pleased to have her here today. I know that her story, about the most basic needs that her Tribe experiences on its reservation, will affect all of my colleagues. The telephone was invented more than a century ago and yet only 47% of American Indian homes on reservations have one. It speaks poorly of our nation that we see fit to leave Indian reservations stranded in the 19th century. I want to work with my colleagues here and leaders in the Indian community to make sure that we make the investments necessary to bring tribal telecommunications into the 21st century. This issue strikes close to home for me. Only 360 miles from Silicon Valley, the Yurok Reservation has ended up on the wrong side of the telecommunications and digital divide. As Sue will point out, 180 households and two public schools are without basic phone service. In the most basic terms, that means that if a grandfather in one of those homes has a heart attack, he has no phone with which to call an ambulance. If a wife goes into labor, she cannot contact her husband for assistance. In terms of economic development, businesses are difficult to attract to the area because of the lack of phone service. And without phone service, you are not only limited in your ability to reach local customers, but you are barred from the long-distance selling opportunities available by selling on the Internet. But the lack of telephone and Internet access is not only making it difficult for artisans to sell their wares outside of the reservation, it also keeps kids from being able to access all of the educational tools the Internet makes available in schools around the country. Only 9 percent of individuals living in Native American communities nationwide have personal computers and only 8 percent have access to the Internet. We have to do better. We have to increase access to technology on Indian Reservations and we have to help Reservations use that technology as a vehicle for economic development. I look forward to working with the Commerce and Indian Affairs Committees on beginning to resolve the telecommunications disparities that exist on Indian reservations and will follow developments closel -- Andr� Cramblit: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Operations Director Northern California Indian Development Council NCIDC (http://www.ncidc.org) is a non-profit that meets the development needs of American Indians and operates an art gallery featuring the art of California tribes (http://www.americanindianonline.com) Visit and show your support for the Grass Roots Oyate http://members.tripod.com/GrassRootsOyate Clemency for Leonard Peltier. Sign the Petition. http://petitiononline.com/Release/petition.html ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?b1ddNB.b2HgmN Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
