Title:	PUEBLO OF SANTA ANA TRIBAL COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT: INNOVATION THROUGH WIRELESS TRIBAL GOVERNMENT SERVICE DELIVERY ON A NATIVE AMERICAN RESERVATION
Author(s):	Dara O’neil , Jeff Evans
ISBN:	972-8924-16-X
Editors:	Pedro Isaías, Maggie McPherson and Frank Bannister
Year:	2006
Edition:	Single
Keywords:	Community informatics; eGovernment; social inclusion; computer-mediated communication; policy issues
Type:	Full Paper
First Page:	288
Last Page:	295
Language:	English
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Full Contents:	click to dowload
Paper Abstract:	University researchers collaborated with an indigenous Native American community in rural New Mexico in the southwestern United States to develop and evaluate the impacts of a Tribal community network on Tribal life. Funded through a $980,108 grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Pueblo of Santa Ana implemented a broadband wireless community network linking all of the Tribe’s 12 government departments and 188 citizen homes on the reservation. The completed network includes: 1) a Santa Ana community intranet to facilitate information sharing among the Tribal Government and community members in their homes using networked computers; 2) Internet access for all Government departments and community members; and 3) a Santa Ana Government local area network (LAN) for secure information sharing. Pueblo residents received computers for home use and were trained to use computers and the Internet. Interns from area Pueblos served as information technology interns and helped deploy and maintain the wireless network and home computers. The Santa Ana community network builds on traditional Tribal communication channels by using technology to strengthen community bonds and prepare its members for life in the digital age. This paper presents a case study of the collaboration between Tribal members and university faculty to illustrate how technology can be used to empower traditionally marginalized indigenous communities.
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