As other communities focus on bringing Internet connectivity to their citizens, many American Indians and Alaska Natives have yet to be connected to a basic telephone network. In 1999, three reports examining the state of connectivity in Indian Country found that Native Americans face an urgent situation - one in which telecommunications and information technology infrastructure capabilities fall far behind the rest of the United States.

• "Falling Through the Next: Defining the Digital Divide" , published by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
• "Assessment of Technology Infrastructure in Native Communities", published by the Economic Development Administration.
• "Native Networking: Telecommunications and Information Technology in Indian Country", published by the Benton Foundation.

The digital divide in Indian Country has five distinct components, all of which must be addressed in order to achieve technological equality.

• Access
• Economic Development and Workforce Training
• Education
• Content
• Sovereignty

The NCAI Digital Divide Task Force is working with tribes to develop strategic partnerships and policy recommendations to provide technology access, education and training, and economic development to Indian Country.

This website is part of NCAI's Digital Divide efforts. Please contact NCAI with any suggestions or comments.

To view many of the files on this site, your web browser needs an Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not already have one, it can be downloaded free of charge from Adobe.

Back to top