Communities Collaborating to Bridge the Digital Divide: The Tribal Virtual Network

The Digital Divide has become a catch phrase and political banner that defines the divide between the “have and have-nots” of internet-based technologies.1 Many rural and Native American communities often have little or no access to basic Internet service, let alone high or even low bandwidth connectivity. A consortium of five tribal museums, culture centers and education programs in New Mexico have entered into a partnership to develop and implement a project that provides a solution to rural communities that lack infrastructure and connectivity. The five sites (the Pueblos of Jemez, Pojoaque, Zuni, the Indian Pueblo Culture Center, and the Jicarilla Apache Nation), located throughout northern and north central New Mexico, are using Access Grid technology that uses a

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2003
• Where: SC
• Authors: Maria Williams, Vernon Lujan, Ron Solimon, Lorene Willis, Tom Kennedy, Kevin Shendo, Julie Frendle, Barbara Tracy, Sam Catanach, Jeffery Edaakie, Arlan Sando, Jacqui Velarde
• Keywords: Applied Computing, Culture Center, Low Bandwidth Connectivity, Native American Communities, SC 2003