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APRIL 17, 2000

Raymond Gachupin, Jemez Pueblo, testifies to the FCC, "Overcoming Obstacles to Telephone Service to Indians on Reservations," January 29, 1999.

The installation of the water, telephone, and electrical systems did not enter our small, but traditional community without much debate and discussion. Many of our Tribal elders warned us of some of the taboos of bringing "fire" into the homes, meaning electricity and accepting too many modern ways of the non-Indians. I now realize the debates were important and warranted. As the chief judge and law enforcement officer of my community, it is crystal clear to me that bringing the "fire" into our homes has brought us warmth, light, and information, but also it has brought the decay of many of our cultural, traditional, and communal practices...So, while we as Tribes, move cautiously slow to accept technology in general, maybe there is a blessing in disguise involved, only time will tell.

See: Indian Initiatives. From the FCC.

Back to the story: Indian Country: Falling into the Digital Divide?