‘Hogan Heroes’ Bridge Native American Digital Divide (fwd)

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‘Hogan Heroes’ Bridge Native American Digital Divide
TsosieSeveral UNM departments are involved in the initiative
http://www.unm.edu/~market/cgi-bin/archives/002113.html

In a large urban center like Albuquerque, it’s easy to forget that many
parts of the world – and the state – lack access to basic resources taken
for granted in city life. Internet to the Hogans (ITTH) is a movement to
bridge that gap by connecting northwest New Mexico to the Internet and
digital television, expanding access to services like distance education
and telehealth.

[Photo: Navajo Nation Council Delegate Leonard Tsosie (center) shows an
elder and youth from ToHajiilee how to access the Internet for distance
learning and telehealth.]

“It’s a movement to close the digital divide in Native American
communities,” said Colleen Keane of the UNM Institute for American Indian
Education.

In 2005, then-Senator and current Navajo Nation Council Delegate Leonard
Tsosie decided to bring together representatives of the Navajo Nation,
technology corporations, universities and national labs to address the
digital divide in northwest New Mexico. Keane helped him arrange a
gathering at Navajo Technical College in Crownpoint, where ITTH was born.

The “Hogan Heroes,” as Keane calls them, bring together complimentary
resources to form a holistic information technology plan – from
communications infrastructure to the services it will deliver – linked with
the broader Navajo Nation IT plan spanning Arizona and Utah as well as New
Mexico.

Casting the ’Net across northwest N.M.
The first step for ITTH is building a backbone of communications technology.
Once in place, that backbone will spread through a wireless canopy to bring
service to homes and hogans, traditional Navajo dwellings.

UNM Information Technology Services is helping Navajo Technical College to
get connected to LamdaRail, an ultra-high-speed network serving
universities and research organizations. Navajo Technical College is
erecting a tower to establish a point to point wireless connection with the
Albuquerque GigaPop, New Mexico’s onramp to LambdaRail.

“They’re leapfrogging in technology,” said ITS Director Moira Gerety,
pointing out that the Navajo Nation is building its own infrastructure with
newer, more cost effective technology.

The Center for High Performance Computing is consulting with Navajo
Technical College on developing cyber-infrastructure and high performance
computing projects. “I really like the idea of having a technical school
bring technology to the local community,” said UNM Chief Information
Officer Barney Maccabe.

ITTH is also expanding access to digital television. One goal is to produce
Navajo language programming. Through a signal sent by KNME, the Ramah
Navajo community is one of the first native communities in the United
States to receive digital public television. One day, Council Delegate
Tsosie would like to see PBS’s Big Bird speak Navajo to help Navajo
children become fluent in both the Navajo and English languages.

Content, the key ingredient
“It’s not about the Internet. It’s about the services you can provide on the
Internet,” Gerety said. UNM can supply some of those services – particularly
telehealth and distance education.

Telehealth uses communication technologies to provide health care,
information and training at a distance. Center for Telehealth Medical
Director Dale Alverson has been consulting with Navajo Nation
telecommunications officials on how to best serve their specific health
needs.

One priority area is behavioral health, especially for returning veterans
suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and for suicide prevention
among adolescents. Alverson said that virtual counseling through two-way
video “gives that sense of presence as if you were physically
face-to-face.” Other priorities that can be addressed through telehealth
include diabetes, substance abuse and Alzheimer’s.

Through Extended University, UNM will make distance education available to
Navajo communities, including online and interactive television courses. In
addition, the Institute for American Indian Education is providing
e-mentoring to New Mexico Native American teachers and pre-service teachers
with the support of a grant from the New Mexico Public Education Department.

Benefits for UNM
With so many services – from admissions applications to course registration
– moving online, Internet access is virtually a prerequisite for access to
higher education. As ITTH plans develop, UNM will have greater
opportunities to reach potential students.

“We have looked at utilizing this technology and network as a means to
expose more students to health careers, and a mechanism to prepare students
for those fields as well through electronic education,” said Gayle
Diné-Chacon of the Center for Native American Health.

Ken Van Brott of the Extended University Gallup Center said that he sees
ITTH as an opportunity to build partnerships with Diné College and Navajo
Technical College. The extension of wireless connections through northwest
New Mexico will also directly benefit the campus by providing access to
LambdaRail.

Hogan Heroes come to UNM Aug. 15
The University Libraries Indigenous Nations Library Program will host the
next ITTH meeting at Zimmerman Library, Willard room on Aug. 15. To
participate, RSVP to Colleen Keane at (505) 379-3315 or ckeane at unm.edu.

Photo credit: Colleen Keane
Posted by scarr at August 8, 2007 12:16 PM