Former Congressman Bill Richardson (1993) acknowledged in a field hearing about universal access for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration in Albuquerque, NM: "Today across our country there are pockets of neglect where an already underserved population continues to wait for the promise of modern communications" (p. 1). Within New Mexico, Richardson (1993) documented that in some areas over ninety percent of the population had no telephone; over sixty percent of Native American households on reservations and in pueblos had no telephone; and geographic, climatological, and cultural idiosyncrasies present unique challenges in building the communications infrastructure. Harris, May, and Baldwin (1993) responded in an opinion paper for the same National Telecommunications and Information Administration field hearing: "Indian America is a very special situation and should be treated very differently from other ethnic communities" (p. 1) with consideration to:
the lack of basic telecommunications infrastructure
on many reservations;
the need for tribal nations to participate
in building or improving their own communications
infrastructures;
poor understanding within the communications
industry of changing Native American communities;
the reality that almost half of all American
Indian people live in rural communities and
on reservations.
In the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) Telecommunications Technology and Native Americans(1995), it was further noted "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" (p. 2). The Oneida Indian Nation in New York was the first American Indian/Alaska Native nation to establish their presence on the WWW. An excerpt from their welcome home page reads: "This technological advancement provides another opportunity to tell our unique story-both in history and of today. The Oneida Nation is perhaps one of the only Indian communities in the United States to progress economically, and succeed commercially, while retaining our traditional system of government, and our culture" (Oneida Nation Home Page).
Progress in Native American telecommunications credits the pioneering efforts of individuals and organizations, such as:
George Baldwin, Professor of Sociology at California State University at Monterey Bay Seaside and director of the Institute for Community Networking;
Michael Wilson, Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin;
Randy Ross, Native American telecommunications advocate;
James Carey, Native American legal advocate with Morrison and Foerester;
LaDonna Harris, Native American advocate and founder of Americans for Indian Opportunity (AIO);
Garry Trujillo, creator and webmaster of NativeNet;
NITI, National Indian Telecommunications Institute, providing telecommunications advocacy, technical, and educational support and training in Native American rural and reservation communities and schools; and
Benton Foundation, committed to the democratization of the evolving communications environment in solving social problems (Berry, 1999; Casey, Ross, Warren, 1999).
The OTAs TelecommunicationsTechnology and Native Americans (1995) reported remarkable enthusiasm in telecommunications use by Native Americans. This publication was the first federal report on American Indian telecommunications representing grassroots efforts of American Indian activists, advocates, and researchers who realized the potential, as well as the risks, of the new communication technologies.
Given the risks, challenges, and potential of the communications technology, Jensen (1999), of the Federal Communications Commissions Office of Communications Business Opportunities, concludes that "for most part, Native American communities have decided it's too important not to have it".
Since the OTAs publication, two follow-up resources, in particular, have built on the work of their landmark predecessor. Native Networking: Telecommunications and Information Technology in Indian Country, (Casey, Ross, & Warren, 1999), published by the Benton Foundation, serves as centrally located reference tool for information about Native American telecommunications and information technology. The Assessment of Technology Infrastructure in Native Communities (1999) was a 4 month survey by researchers at New Mexico State University to determine the problems in infrastructure building in Indian country. Although Native American telecommunications activities and presence is increasing, the gap widens with the rate of change within the majority society (TelecommunicationsTechnology and Native Americans, 1995, p. 7).
Significant work of Baldwin (Planning & Evaluating, 1998) and May (1991) identify the "single issue of access" as the reason for American Indians and Alaskan Natives (AI/AN) low participation rates online. Baldwin explains: "Native people, especially in rural and reservation locations, have less telephones per capita than the general population, less access to television, less access to libraries-in general less access to information. In 1992, of the 550 federally recognized tribal governments, not one had an official on-line presence and of the 30 tribally controlled colleges, none were present on the net" (p. 5).
