tech-divide

[s.t. bischoff]

Of potential interest...
http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2011/05/massive-digital-divide-for-native-americans-is-a-travesty132.html

Massive Digital Divide for Native Americans is 'A Travesty'Perhaps nowhere
in the United States does the digital divide cut as wide as in Indian
Country. More than 90 percent of tribal populations lack high-speed Internet
access, and usage rates are as low as 5 percent in some areas, according to
the Federal Communications Commission.

Sascha Meinrath, director of New America Foundation's Open Technology
Initiative <http://oti.newamerica.net/> calls it "a travesty."

"You have a community that perhaps treasures media and cultural production
more than almost any other constituency in the country, and you have an
entire dearth of access to new media production and dissemination
technology," Meinrath said.

Since 2009, New America Foundation has worked with Native Public
Media<http://www.nativepublicmedia.org/>,
which supports and advocates for Native American media outlets, to help
tribal communities take advantage of new media platforms. In January, the
organizations formalized their partnership, and this fall, they plan to
launch a media literacy pilot project that will train Native radio
broadcasters in at least four communities to tell stories using digital
tools.

"It's a very proactive way to address the digital divide, apart from the
hardware," said Loris Ann Taylor, president of Native Public Media.
more....
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