The Digital Divide in the Navajo Nation
Imagine living in a place where you have no access to the internet, you have no way of knowing what is going on in the world, or even in America. Simple tasks like checking the weather or even ordering online seem to be impossible. In the fast paced world we live in today it is easy to assume that everyone has easy to access internet, but that could not be farther from the truth. A large group of people in America known as the Navajo Nation are left without access, but attempts are in progress to fix the problem. Having internet access is something that is easy to take for granted, and should be appreciated as many people around the world are not given the opportunity to use this tool. While steps are
…show more content…
The Navajo Nation consists of around 175,000 members. The tribe reaches from Arizona, to New Mexico, to Utah. In the Navajo Nations territory around sixty percent of homes do not have telephone services, and cell phone service is minimal and very hard to find. This becomes a very serious problem when it is extremely difficult to track 911 telephones calls, because of lack of any dependable telephone services. Recent data shows that less than 4 percent of those who are living in the Navajo Nation have access to the most basic internet. The article “On Tribal Lands, Digital Divide Brings New Form of Isolation” really illustrates the problems that those who are living in the Navajo Nation have to deal with daily. Wilhelmina Tsosie a college student from Window Rock Arizona finds that the biggest problem is finding internet access to complete her college assignments. Tsosie has to undergo a 30 mile drive to a hotel that allows her to use the internet, just to complete one of her online assignments. She does not receive any internet access at her home simply because the location is too remote. It is becoming a greater problem everyday as gas is becoming more expensive and the cost of the drive to get internet access is adding up. Because of this Tsosie is worried about passing her classes and even finishing school, and the only thing holding her back is the lack of easy accessible internet. Another person who is facing the effects of the digital divide is Sonny Clark. Clark lives in the Navajo town of Crystal, New Mexico. Just to receive any cell phone connection Clark must drive around five miles. It is a major problem with Clark to just communicate with his children who live out of state. Furthermore, Clark has to drive an additional thirty miles to connect to the internet. The issue with finding sufficient internet access has been a constant battle for more than 10 years now. An article
As Din4 people (Navajo people) our community is known as “The home Chief Manuelito’s Wife”. Chief Manuelito was a head Dine chief during the Long Walk period in 1864. In the year of 1868 Manuelito and other leaders signed a treaty act to end the period of imprisonment. Also, during this time the Navajo reservations were established. Tohatchi was one of the many communities that were established on the Navajo reservation. The Navajo reservation spreads across New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. The Navajo Nation is known for being the largest tribe (Discovernavajo 2015). Tohatchi is located in McKinley County.
Culture gives definition to a group of people’s way of life. Culture defines people; It is who the people are. The Navajo Indians are a group located in the southwestern part of the United States with a distinct culture. They originated there sometime between the year “1200 and 1500” (Craats 4). Unlike the beginning of their residence in the United States, different aspects of the culture have changed, but the Navajo people still remain a culturally rich group of people.
In this video, the one thing that caught my attention was when Charles Colson stated that “when he worked in the prisons 35 years ago there were 229,000 people in prison. Today there are 2.3 million people in prison.” This really caught my attention because it is just a great example of how our culture is starting to crumble right before our very eyes. There is an epidemic of drug abuse, corruption, thievery and all-around madness going on in America today. It really does seem like ethics are non-existent and this is the very reason why our jail system is currently overloaded. I don’t know about anybody else but to me sometimes I wake up and wonder if I am still on planet Earth. Even though I am only 30
With all the technology today, the Internet is still off-limits to certain people. Everyone does not own a computer and because of this, everyone is not computer literate. Mostly middle and upper class people have their own laptops, or computers, and are able to pay for Internet service. Other people, like student's who use their schools computers or people who go to libraries, are forced to use whatever equipment is available, which is, in most cases, not top of the line and sometimes may or may not have the Internet. Soon this world will be computer-based and if you do not have your own computer or at least access to one, you will be behind. The Internet is an important part of computers considering the many uses it offers.
The Navajo creation involves four worlds. In the first world the First Man and the First Woman became known. In the second world it is much like the story of the Garden of Eden in the bible. The First Man and First Woman get banished to the third world where they begin to procreate. Finally in the fourth world they decide to settle down with help of the wind God. The Navajo people are the largest recognized tribe in the Southwestern United States. This tribe consists of 300,048 enrolled tribal members as of 2011. The Navajo Indians are also known as Dine, meaning “the people”.
Residing in the Southwest United States, the Navajo Indian tribe is one of the largest tribes in America today. In their own language, they refer to themselves as Diné which means “the people”. They are an old tribe with descendants tracing their roots back to the thirteenth century. The first contact that the Navajos had with white settlers was during the Mexican American War in 1846. The United States conducted peaceful relations with the Navajo for over fifteen years. Forts were built to help protect the Navajo from Spanish/Mexican raids on the Navajo’s cattle. Eventually, a new military commander, James H. Carleton, was named in New Mexico and he began to raid Navajo lands with a vengeance. He ordered the Navajo to surrender. When the majority of the Navajo refused, their crops were destroyed and they were forced to leave their lands in what is called ‘The Long Walk’. They were forced to a reservation in Fort Sumter, New Mexico some 300 miles away. The reservation failed because it was designed to support four to five thousand but there were nine thousand Navajos that were displaced onto the reservation. Finally a treaty was developed that included parts of their homeland as the reservation and the Navajo were then allowed to return to the new reservation. For the most part, the Native Americans prospered with a few skirmishes from white settlers. The prosperity didn’t last as the U.S. government decided that the Navajo cattle were overgrazing the land. Immediately, over eighty percent of all the livestock was exterminated in what was called ‘The Navajo Livestock Reduction’. This was a low blow to the Navajos, culturally and economically. The government then started to try to mainstream the Navajo tribe by placing childre...
After reading the “Mobile Communications” section of the Internet chapter, discuss whether or not you think the Digital Divide could be closed somewhat by cell phones and other mobile devices. The phrase “digital divide” illustrates the fact that the world can be divided into people who do and people who do not have access to and/or the capability to use modern-day information technology, such as the telephone and the Internet. For instance, “78.6 percent of North America’s residents were Internet users, but only 13.5 percent of Africa’s population had this capability.” (Volti 2014). There have been attempts to close this opening of the digital divide by bringing reasonably priced mobile phones to these people and countries with limited access.
The purpose of Robert J. Samuelson’s article “Debunking the Digital Divide” is to explain that the popular political slogan “digital divide” is not as true as many people have been lead to believe. The digital divide is a theory that suggests that the advancement of technology will create an even larger gap between the “rich” and the “poor”. The ability/inability to afford a computer will increase income inequality between the technology “haves” and “have nots”. In his article, Samuelson states that, “this argument is either untrue or widely exaggerated”, and for many different reasons. However, wages statics and the widening of the wage gap give economist reasons to speculate. Samuelson makes two main points in his article and examines a study
For my generation, the internet is a privilege because when I was younger, I did not have access to a computer or internet. For today’s generation, the internet is more of a necessity. It is necessary not only for researching and gathering information, but for applying for jobs as well as becoming an immeasurably powerful computing system.
The history of the internet shows that the internet is not a new medium. The internet was initially created in the 1960's to as a way for the United States to stay connected in case of a nuclear fallout due to the possible consequences of the Cold War. F...
In summary, the Digital Divide is real and has placed a severe gap between certain groups of people in the American culture. The Land of Opportunity is not necessarily made available to all. In her CNet article, Sonia Arrison (2002), provides a unique perspective as to the reason behind the gap. “The digital divide is not a crisis, and it is certainly not the civil liberties issue of the 21st century. The real issues are the sorry state of education and the push to raise the taxes that affect lower income families most” (Arrison, 2002). Arrison states that if the Government could improve the education in the American schools and stop luxury taxes on so many services, the Digital Divide could easily be narrowed. By narrowing the divide, more families could afford Internet if so desired, and students could have access to a better education.
The Internet has become a major tool for communication and access to information for over two and half billion people (Wright 121). Although Internet has become an unavoidable reality that is consuming our planet in a web of information. This process is being shaped by our actions and choices which ultimately drives us together (Deibert 11). Nowadays China has over 538 million netizens, the world’s largest online community (Feng & Guo 335).
The use of the Internet has exploded in the past few decades, and the age of the user is swiftly declining as well (Greenfield, Patricia, and Zheng Yan). “The spread of Internet access has been described as nine times faster than that of radio, four times faster than the personal computer, and three times faster than television” (Shields, Margie, and Behrman 5). The Internet has woven itself into people’s daily lives and has really changed culture in numerous ways. It has helped make education more accessible, especially to those in developing countries. Specifically, it has brought life saving health practices and information to those who otherwise would have gone without it. Also, children who need extra help learning, like kids with special
The internet has come along way since its birth back in 1969, from its start as a government network to the everyday life; it has proven to be one of the greatest inventions ever discovered. It has helped many people with an array of task ranging from everyday government usage, and personal web pages to the ever so expanding horizons of technology still being produced today. Between the good and the bad, the internet has improved the way of life, and will continue to improve throughout time.
Days, months, and years go by and we do not notice them. Living in such a busy world, we are not always aware of the changes in our lives. Twenty years ago, if someone was told we would be able to buy groceries, pay our bills, buy stocks or even a car through the use of a computer, we might have laughed and blamed too much science fiction television for such wild accusations. However, as the next generation of children grows up, they may find it funny that people still send letters to each other through the post office. The development of the Internet has given us the ability to communicate and exchange information instantly across vast distances. The Internet has caused a huge impact in the communication field, and has made our way of living and working a lot easier, faster, and cheaper than before.