Research

“Sharing one Skin” by Jeannette Armstrong is about telling the audience where she comes from. She talks about how her mother is from Kettle Falls, while her father is from Okanagan Valley. She explains how she takes part in both places “I cannot be separated from my place or my land.” The Okanagan overall original identity is about dreams and land together. The main identity is the physical self, the emotional self, the thinking-intellectual self, and the spiritual self. A connection to this story I made is about how her parents are from different lands/communities and she takes part in both cultures. She explains how both can not be separated from one another and I agree because they both balance out one another. Another way I can connect to her is when she explains how the community is formed through emotional ties. We may not understand the way a community is cared for but we can connect to others we trust in our community. When you trust others in your community you start to care for them and look out for them. I think that is how it is in my community because you start to build relationships with others you start to see around.

The article “Access to internet crucial during COVID-19 outbreak: Broadband connection considered a social determinant of health” talks about the digital divide, meaning the split between those who have internet access and those who don’t. They explain that under the restrictions due to the Covid-19 outbreak the broadband technologies forced parents and students to work from home. The outcome of this is to have access to the internet but those who lack it or can not afford it will struggle. This article mentions that students have to travel a certain distance to catch a hotspot in order to complete work. “This pandemic has exposed just how many are stuck on the wrong side of the digital divide without adequate internet access,”(Rosenworcel). Their solution is to gain better maps to target the most affected area and work from there.

This article “No connection: The issue of internet on the reservation” talks about how the digital divide is increasing all the time. Native Americans are being left out of digital discussions as the trend grows to make legal materials accessible online. The presence of a digital divide, which is described as the difference between the number of people who have access to the internet. The benefit of the internet is being able to exchange and put forth ideas. Despite the fact that it is a gathering of many voices, there is a profound misconception of the expense and who will currently access the internet. Native Americans are unable to use this essential resource due to a lack of funds and facilities. I can make a connection to this because back then Sandia Pueblo did have a lack of federal, state and self-funding took place. This puts us at an economically disadvantaged because of this matter in the past. This kept us in the digital divide but however due to new economic business developments such as the Sandia Lakes, Casino and Gas stations from our tribal leaders this has provided us with visibility and self support. It gave us a voice and helped the community to grow in a positive way. This minimized the digital divide which allowed us to access the internet and various telecommunications services.

This article talks about how the U.S. Census Bureau collecting its data for over 5 years now. The new studies show that while broadband access rates have changed among Native American Tribes. The map in this article shows the difference in broadband access standards among reservations in the contiguous 48 states. This service is classified by the same five standards by Census Bureau. Broadband service rates in counties are significantly linked with wages. The relationship between wages and internet coverage for tribes and counties is very close. If the people of the communities bought goods online then the local stores will lose business.