Volume XII Summer 2001 Issue #4

ON CAMPUS

Blackfeet expand Head Start on campus

Blackfeet Community College (BCC) in northwestern Montana has a track record of linking with the community to enhance existing services, and now the college is working closely with the Blackfeet Head Start Program. BCC President Dorothy Still Smoking, Ed.D., brought extensive experience in Head Start and early childhood program development when she became president in July 2000. She immediately saw the potential of bringing Head Start services to campus to serve the families of tribal college students. The Blackfeet Head Start has provided GED (General Education Diploma) services to its families for some time. Now GED instruction, testing, and preparation are conducted on the tribal college campus, averaging 30 students per day.

Last fall, a Head Start site was opened on campus for BCC students' children. Through a partnership between the college and Head Start, the site provides a fulltime Blackfeet language instructor. Parents can learn the language with their children.

The college is one of several tribal colleges across the country that is providing degree programs for Head Start staff. Ten local staff members will earn Associate of Arts Degrees in Early Childhood Education. Five staff will also complete their bachelor's degrees with an Early Childhood Education option at a four-year institution; BCC is completing articulation agreements now with Montana State University.

Most recently, the college has opened the Blackfeet Head Start child care program on campus for younger children. Many students need child care services in order to pursue their education, but the college could not afford to provide it until the U.S. Department of Education awarded a $10,000 grant last June for this purpose. The Head Start center can serve up to 17 Head Start children as well as 40 infants and toddlers.

This collaborative effort creates more community involvement, addresses student needs, and sets an example of how communities can maximize resources when funding is scarce, Still Smoking said. The staff includes Leona Skunkcap, a former Head Start Teacher Training Project director, and Wilma Madplume, who supervises within the college education department.

For 11 years before coming to the college, Still Smoking directed the Blackfeet Head Start Program, which is nationally known for its emphasis on language. She is the co-founder of the Peigan Institute, which started language immersion schools on the reservation. In 1994, she received the National Head Start Association's Administrator of the Year Award.

BCC is one of the largest tribal colleges in the country, enrolling 400 students last winter. The Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges reaffirmed the college's accreditation in December. For more information about the Head Start program, call the college at 406/ 338-5411.

AIHEC honors outgoing executive director

The American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) board took time out Feb. 9 to honor Veronica Gonzales, who has served the organization of tribal colleges since 1994, six years as executive director. Tribal college presidents showered her with gifts and compliments.

Under her direction, AIHEC succeeded in getting a Presidential Executive Order for Tribal Colleges and Universities, which was signed by President Bill Clinton on Oct. 19, 1996. "It took a tremendous amount of shoe leather to build relationships with all the departments of the executive department," Dr. Janine Pease-Pretty on Top said at the time. "Veronica is a master at it." Gonzales and the tribal college presidents had to start with minor officials, explaining what a tribal college was and move up through each department to the secretarial level.

The Executive Order has resulted in millions of additional dollars and resources for the colleges. It has built new relationships with departments such as Commerce, Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development. In the past, the tribal colleges had worked primarily with the Departments of Interior, Education, Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and Agriculture.

Dr. Joe McDonald, president of Salish Kootenai College in Montana, credits Gonzales with establishing a relationship between the tribal colleges and the Office of Management and the Budget (OMB). "That really made a difference," he said. The colleges knew as early as the 1970s the importance of working with OMB, but they didn't know how to open the door.

In 1996, Gonzales met with Joel Kaplan from the staff of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies. She explained AIHEC's frustration with the lack of progress on the Executive Order. He made several high level calls and set up an appointment at OMB for Pease-Pretty on Top. After that, the administration always requested more support from Congress for the tribal colleges. In one instance, the Bureau of Indian Affairs submitted a budget, and OMB returned it to the agency because it did not provide enough for tribal colleges' core funding, McDonald said.

"She is an incessant worker," McDonald said. He would call her with only half a day's notice, and she would set up appointments with administrative departments and members of Congress. "I'd end the day exhausted with my tongue hanging out," he said.

The AIHEC infrastructure has significantly improved since 1995. The central staff grew from a low of 3 employees to its present level of 13. Through the efforts of tribal college administrators and AIHEC staff, federal funding opportunities for tribal college and universities have increased by $113 million over the past six years. However, they hare still under funded compared with other institutions.

A graduate of the University of New Mexico with degrees in political science and English, Gonzales previously served as a legislative aide to the Senate Judiciary Committee, a special assistant for two Congressmen, and a senior legislative advisor at the U.S. Department of Energy.

Dr. Gerald Gipp, a former official at the National Science Foundation, is AIHEC's new executive director. Gipp, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, holds doctorate and master's degrees from Pennsylvania State University, with an emphasis on educational leadership and administration. Gonzales continues to serve AIHEC as a senior advisor.

Northwest Indian College and HHS form health partnership

A landmark agreement to recruit, train, and retain Native American students and faculty in the public health professions in the Northwest was signed by Northwest Indian College (NWIC Bellingham, Wash.) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Under the agreement, a Northwest Indian Center for Health Education and Research will be established at the Northwest Indian College, one of 33 tribal colleges throughout the country, and the only tribal college located in Region X (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.) The college serves approximately 1,500 primarily Native American students. Under the new partnership, HHS Region X will become the first federal satellite downlink site for distance learning connected to the American Indian Higher Education Consortium.

"There is a vital need to recruit and train Native Americans in the health and medical fields," said HHS Regional Director Richard C. Kelley, "and this agreement will help narrow the gaps that exist in health care among Native Americans."

"The Clinton-Gore Administration's Initiative to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health focuses not only on improving access to health care for Native Americans but also on increasing the number of Native Americans who serve in the health professions and promoting research and education among minority populations," Kelley said.

On average, American Indians and Alaska Natives are 2.8 times as likely to have diagnosed diabetes as non-Hispanic whites of similar age. The rate of suicide among Native Americans is about 1.5 times the national rate, and the infant mortality rate is nearly 1.5 times that of whites as well.

"We welcome this partnership with HHS," said Dr. Tommy Lewis, president of NWIC. "Developing an undergraduate program tailored to the health and medical needs of Native Americans can make a crucial difference in improving the health of Indian people throughout the Northwest."

In the agreement, HHS will provide technical assistance to the college in developing health-related curricula and activities, offer hands-on public health training and opportunities such as internships and apprenticeships within HHS, and provide an off-campus site for Seattle-based Native American students to participate in distance learning classes and acquire college credit through NWIC.

OLC Welfare-to-Work named exceptional

By Michele Allen

The Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota is known for its grim statistics and overwhelming poverty. The Oglala Lakota residents are the poorest in the country. It trails only Haiti in the Western Hemisphere in dying young (at approximately age 45). The infant and suicide rates are three times the national average. Over 70 percent of the people are unemployed. Rates of diabetes, alcoholism, heart disease, and accidents top all other races (including other tribes) in the nation.

Statistics like these are enough to make grown people cry. Several in fact did at the Welfare-to-Work Beyond 2000 National Conference held in Phoenix, Ariz., last October. The OLC Welfare-to-Work program, Wakanyeja Un Wowasi (work now for the children), was selected as one of the exceptional programs in the country. It was one of 15 presented at the conference and is one of hundreds nationwide.

Joyce Wheeler, support liaison coordinator, presented the OLC program along with two colleagues. She said several people came up afterwards and said that they'd heard of Pine Ridge before on the news, but it was never real to them before. Many audience members openly cried. Several asked her for more information on the program specifically and Pine Ridge in general.

OLC was awarded a $2.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor in October 1998 to assist TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) recipients in transitioning from welfare to unsubsidized employment. Unsubsidized employment is defined as no longer receiving any type of government aid such as welfare or food stamps. The goal is to place 150 (21 percent) of Pine Ridge's welfare clients by March 31, 2002. To date the program has completed 263 intakes and has placed 96 clients in this type of employment.

A typical client is a 32 year old female with two to three children. She usually lives in public housing with relatives. She didn't finish high school but is working on a GED (General Education Diploma). She worked a little over three months in the past year. Nearly half needed child care. Many did not have transportation or a driver's license.

The philosophy at Wakanyeja Un Wowasi is that getting a job is only the beginning. It's a first step in rebuilding a sense of well-being, hope, and power over one's own life. The mission is to build a circle of support that assists people who are currently unemployed or are hindered by personal and systemic barriers to attain and maintain self-sufficiency. In essence, the program provides job readiness and basic skills training. Wakanyeja Un Wowasi offers driver's education training. To aid communication between potential employers and employees, the program developed a partnership with Golden West Telecommunications to provide a voice mailbox system for participants to access messages.

When clients are initially interviewed, they are given a depression survey due to the high unemployment rate, high poverty rate, and high drug and alcohol abuse. If identified as depressed, liaisons work with the Indian Health Service to provide counseling. Because caring for children is the basic traditional value of the Lakota, Wakanyeja Un Wowasi will pay for the first two weeks of child care at either a tribal or state child care program.

Additionally, the program offers employers a wage subsidy to ensure that clients receive at least the minimum wage of $6 an hour. Employers receive $1,500 from the program to subsidize wages, and if the employee is still working after six months, employers are eligible for another $1,500. Employers are eligible for federal tax credits including one for hiring former welfare recipients and a new credit for hiring Native Americans. Wakanyeja Un Wowasi provides training to employers and supervisors, which includes cultural sensitivity. The program also pays for any training related to the job.

To help clients once they are placed, monthly pot luck dinners are held to discuss various topics such as budgeting, time management, communication skills, and balancing work and family. The success of this program proves that going from welfare to work truly can and will improve the quality of life for ourselves and our children.

IAIA reaches out to Native students in Denver

By Miguel Navrot

The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) has long used creativity to nurture the personal lives of Native American students. Now, the 38-year-old institution in Santa Fe, N.M., is shipping its efforts across borders.

Sena Harjo, an aspiring writing teacher and IAIA student in Santa Fe, will return to her hometown of Denver this summer for a furious-but-intimate assignment: foster a hands- on love for art and spark the individual talents of nearly four dozen youngsters, many of whom come from disadvantaged families. Harjo and the other intern teachers will spend three weeks with the kids, who will eventually put their works on display in the renowned Denver Art Museum. It's a challenge, but Harjo's bright face shows she enjoys the task.

Though her background is a mix of Seminole, Choctaw, and Creek, the self-described "urban Indian" came from Denver and understands the situations faced by many of the students enrolled in IAIA's Native American Youth Outreach Program. Few, if any, have learned from Native American teachers. Some have learning disabilities. Others are stifled by low self-esteem.

"Some of them didn't know a thing about their own Native backgrounds," said Harjo, who became an instructor in the summer of 2000. Jim Rivera said, "When we first asked them about their Indian backgrounds, many had to ask, `Mommy, what am I?'" Rivera (Pascua-Yaqui), an IAIA graduate, now is the assistant coordinator for the IAIA Native American Youth Outreach Program.

Art teaching doubles as lessons in culture at the summer art camps. From traditional crafts of beadwork and pottery to contemporary arts of photography and mural painting, Rivera and Harjo work with the students during a rigorous schedule, taking on and completing new projects almost daily.

The program benefits from the Wallace Funds of New York, which provided a four-year grant to IAIA. One example of the students' work is "Creative Natives," a three-minute compact disc recording. Within an unbelievable eight hours, the pupils selected instruments to use, penned lyrics, composed the piece, and committed the results to laser media in a professional sound studio. "Creative Natives" juxtaposes the traditional and new, combining a turtle shell rattle with -- of all things -- hip-hop rapping. Harjo boasts that the CD received radio airplay in Denver and overseas.

Last year's camp involved four faculty and seven interns. Of the 45 students who originally enrolled in 2000, 42 completed the course.

$4 million from tribe kicks off SBC campaign

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council and Sitting Bull College at Fort Yates, N.D., have joined forces to introduce a $40 million capital campaign. The money raised through this campaign will be used to build and maintain a new campus and for an endowment. The $40 million project represents an opportunity to expand education and employment for the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.

Founded in 1973 as Standing Rock College, the current campus is housed in original buildings that the tribe built in the early 1970s. Sitting Bull College President Ron McNeil said that in 1997, a water main broke in the interior wall of his school's library and caused so much damage that he was forced to cancel classes. Students, faculty, and staff hauled the books out of the building and managed to save them from the damaging cascade of water. "We also had an electrical fire after someone plugged in a computer. The wiring was never intended for the amount of usage that it gets now. We have a choice to constantly fix and upgrade a building never intended for a college's technical requirements or to build a technologically-advanced college campus where every room, including dorms, will have Internet access."

Sitting Bull College has begun fundraising activities. The college received a $4 million endorsement from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council last December. "The $4 million from the tribal council is an indication of our tribal government's commitment to strengthening the relationship between Sitting Bull College and the tribe, as well as a sign of their commitment to education. It now makes it possible for us to approach both the private sector and the federal government for matching funds. Without the tribe's monetary commitment, it would be extremely difficult to raise outside support," McNeil said.

The new campus site is located in Fort Yates on 160 acres. Plans for the grounds include administration and academic buildings, single and multi-family housing, men's and women's dormitories, a gymnasium, day care facilities, a cultural center, a home and health care center, a tribal information center, and pow-wow grounds.

Friends remember Lakota Studies instructor

Doris Leader Charge served as Lakota language instructor at Sinte Gleska University (SGU) on the Rosebud Reservation for 27 years. "She was a driving force behind the comprehensive Lakota Studies degree programs," according to SGU President Lionel Bordeaux. The past few years Leader Charge chaired the SGU Lakota Studies Department and also served on the Board of Regents several terms as staff director.

In April 1992 Leader Charge accompanied Hollywood director, producer, and actor, Kevin Costner, on stage to accept the Academy Award for Best Picture for the movie, Dances with Wolves. "Her smile lit up the stage far more than the thousands of camera flashes as she spoke Lakota in her acceptance speech," according to Bordeaux. It was the first time a Native person accepted an Academy Award, and she remembered it as one of her proudest moments. Leader Charge translated the Dances with Wolves movie script into Lakota and taught all the actors in the movie to speak the Lakota language, while also acting in the movie.

In her 27 years of teaching at SGU, Leader Charge developed new language teaching methods that were effective in breaking down many of the barriers the students held toward learning the language. She felt students should learn to speak the Lakota language to understand their culture, identity, and sacred practices. She and her husband, Fred, served as advisors for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's Native American Higher Education Initiative, Capturing the Dream.

Doris Leader Charge was born May 4, 1930. She was in poor health in recent years, but she continued to teach. "She always said she wouldn't retire, and they would have to take her out of there on a stretcher," said Cheryl Crazy Bull, her long time friend and colleague. On Feb. 20, she laid down to take a nap in the Lakota Studies office and never woke up. She leaves behind a husband, Fred, five children, many grandchildren and great grandchildren, and her family of fellow staff and faculty at Sinte Gleska University.

The family asks that any donations be sent to Sinte Gleska University (P.O. Box 490, Rosebud, S.D. 57570) for a memorial scholarship in the name of Doris Leader Charge.

Fort Belknap expands library services

The Fort Belknap College Library and Tribal Archives have been awarded an Enhancement Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for $118,000. Through this grant the library has hired a full time assistant allowing the library to increase service hours from 40 to 57 hours per week, making the library more accessible in the evenings.

In addition, the library has purchased eight new computers that are set up in the library's computer lab. The lab is open to all ages, and patrons include students as well as community users. These computers have word processing, spreadsheet and database programs, and Internet capabilities. A new online public access catalog (OPAC) will be purchased. The OPAC will display the holdings of the library and will be accessible to anyone anywhere with Internet access.

The library recently added a quiet study area/reference room, which has provided some much needed space both for materials and patron seating. The only public school libraries are located at the southern end of the reservation in Hays and Lodgepole, more than 50 miles away. Community persons appreciate the Internet access, as well as the extensive collection of Native American materials, and the small but unique tribal archive collection.

The Fort Belknap College Library and Tribal Archives is open to anyone in the area. The IMLS grant is intended to increase the "public library" holdings and to make the public more aware of the materials and services available at the library. The library maintains a web page at . The library staff includes Director Eva English and Library Assistant Manuel Morales.

N.D. colleges inspire tomorrow's scientists

What would attract high school students to spend eight Sunday afternoons in a classroom? Science. The budding scientists pondered real world questions such as the height and volume of a water tower, methods of moving heavy objects, and the science of pizza making.

The Sunday Academy sessions were part of an initiative designed to increase the number of Native American mathematicians, scientists, and engineers. It is funded by a grant from the Department of Defense's Office of Naval Research to Turtle Mountain Community College (TMCC).

Several years ago the tribal college in North Dakota approached the engineering department at North Dakota State University and asked if they would be interested in developing a program to make tribal students succeed in engineering. Deans at the four other tribal colleges in North Dakota all expressed interest in participating. Faculty and administrators from NDSU and the tribal colleges designed project activities to engage the students' interest.

"I was really excited to see 18 high school kids doing standards-based math and science," said the TMCC project director, Dr. Carol Davis. NDSU broadcast the Sunday Academy instruction to the 18 Turtle Mountain students and to and to 40 Sitting Bull College. One tribal college is being added to the initiative each year. Reservation high schools do not offer complete pre-college math and science experiences due to remoteness, inadequate facilities, and limited staff. Consequently Indian students have not been attracted to careers that require higher level math, science and technology skills. "These professions are critical to the future development of this country as well as the reservations," Davis said.

In addition to the eight Sunday Academy sessions (one per month), they held a summer camp at NDSU and another at TMCC. The camps focused upon hands-on learning, such as visiting the hospital engineering facilities to see how math and science were applied there. Groups of students prepared power point presentations for the science fair on the last day of camp.

The initiative involves faculty from the tribal colleges, high schools, and the university. The tribal college students were introduced to research, and they served as tutors and mentors for the younger students.

Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa reach out to community

By Lynn Aho, RNAHE coordinator, and Debra Parrish, KBOCC president

Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College (KBOCC) launched a new outreach program in the fall of 2000, Recruiting Native Americans for Higher Education (RNAHE). The program, supported by a grant from the Michigan Family Independence Agency and Department of Civil Rights, encourages low-income Native Americans to enroll in post-secondary education that will improve their career opportunities.

Through a combination of community awareness, vocational guidance services, and vocational test assessments, the program aims to customize a program specifically to a student's needs and talents. At the same time, the college recognizes the importance of cultural events as necessary to enriching their post-secondary school experience. The program encourages participation in pow-wows, national Indian conferences, plays, concerts, and other events.

Recruiting Native Americans for Higher Education results from a new, dynamic convergence of KBOCC's goals with those of the state. Today's task is to encourage every person who is able to work to seek employment. The ultimate goal is for each family to become entirely self-supporting.

Both Native American and non-native high school graduates in extremely rural Baraga County pursue higher education at a relatively low rate. Baraga High School guidance counselor Phil Keyes reports that the percentage of graduates starting college or vocational programs typically fluctuates between 45 percent and 60 percent.

In recent years, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community's tribal leaders have worked to breach these barriers for their students. The tribe has offered scholarships for college and incentives while still in elementary and secondary school. In cooperation with the local school districts, the tribe has sponsored presentations in the schools by Native American speakers, provided tutors to help children succeed at school, and encouraged Ojibwa language and culture instruction in the elementary schools. But none of these measures has much effect on people who have already left school.

Debra Parrish, KBOCC president, designed Recruiting Native Americans for Higher Education and successfully applied for Community Service Block Grant funding for the program. She recognized that the convergence of community needs and the goals of both Michigan's Family Independence Agency and Ojibwa Community College offered a rare service opportunity.

With the financial support of the state of Michigan, KBOCC can reach out to the members of the tribal community who need education the most, yet often have the hardest time gaining access to it. Helping individuals breach the barriers that keep them from higher education enables them to improve their own lives, to enrich the colleges they choose with the wealth of their experience and heritage, and to more effectively use their talents to contribute to the well-being of the community. As role models for today's children, they will impact generations to come.

UTTC purchases land to expand campus

United Tribes Technical College (UTTC) has purchased 132 acres of land adjacent to the south side of the campus in Bismarck, N.D., for future growth and development. "The purchase doubles the present campus acreage and increases institutional capacity and opportunity for growth," said Dr. David M. Gipp, UTTC president.

The south campus expansion was made possible by the American Indian College Fund, which received contributions from several foundations. UTTC is one of only two tribally-controlled vocational technical institutions in the nation. Founded in 1969, the college has provided residential education services for over 10,000 American Indian students and their families. Over the years, expansion of campus facilities included the additions of a Skills Center (1978), Child Development Center (1979), James Henry Community Center (1982), Solo dormitory (1992), Art Gallery (1993), and Cultural Arts Interpretive Center (2001).

Facilities on the 105-acre UTTC campus preserve a rich local history. Most of the original facilities were built in the early 1900s when they were used as a military post site for Fort Abraham Lincoln. Later, during World War II, the buildings housed German and Japanese prisoners. The campus was also used as a Job Corps training center.

Russell Swagger, dean of student and campus services, said, "The red building bricks are crumbling and increasingly more difficult to heat, especially with North Dakota winters. In some cases, renovation of the existing buildings is more expensive than building new."

Campus growth will allow future expansion of current programs such as Injury Prevention, Tribal Management, Computer Services, Teacher Training, Tourism, and Distance Education. According to Dr. John Derby, dean of academic services, "We (UTTC) are addressing the needs of Indian Country from the grassroots up, and the students recognize the importance of education as a means of improving community, themselves, and their families."

UTTC serves the academic needs of American Indian students from over 30 tribal nations located in 15 different states. The Theodore Jamerson Elementary School (TJES) is located on campus and serves the K-8 grade. "Expansion means increasing the number of adult students attending, which directly impacts the number of children served by TJES," states Sam Azure, dean of childhood education.

The college also has an inter-tribal mission to serve as a forum for special projects aimed at the perpetuation of tribal rights and the economic progress of American Indians. UTTC serves as headquarters for the N.D. Indian Gaming Commission, Sacred Child Project, Transportation Technical Assistance Program, Region VI Comprehensive Center, ND/SD Native American Business Development Center, and Workforce Investment Act. According to UTTC Board Chairman and Chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Charles W. Murphy, "UTTC has successfully maintained 30 years of academic excellence and service. Expansion elevates us to the next level of service for tribes." For additional information, contact John Beheler at 701/ 255-3285 Ext. 266.

SGU offers help with grants for disabled

"Tools for Tomorrow: Empowering Tribal Communities for Access Opportunities Project" is a new program geared toward capacity building for Native Americans with disabilities. A collaborative partnership between Sinte Gleska University, the South Dakota University Affiliated Program, and the Nonprofit Management Institute, the Tools for Tomorrow Project is funded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Any tribal college that wants help with serving the disabled can benefit. The project is intended to assist Native Americans in accessing funding sources to meet the needs of individuals with disabilities. The objective will be accomplished through training and technical assistance targeted toward identifying funding sources, preparing proposals, and accessing funding.

The Tools for Tomorrow Project is designed to facilitate workshops for grant seekers and to assist them with their fundraising. These workshops are facilitated using creative processes that meet the need of the Native American learner. "A variety of technological resources and hands-on activities make grant-seeking an enjoyable experience designed toward individual or group needs," according to Kim Hanes, project coordinator.

Workshop topics include: grant seeking basics; visioning; seeking out and matching funding resources at both the federal and private foundation levels; managing a grant successfully and; evaluation/self reflection. The Tools for Tomorrow Project has access to many private foundation resources. Sinte Gleska University has recently been designated as a Cooperating Collections Site through The Foundation Center in New York. This valuable resource, available to all tribal colleges, will assist participants in learning about all types of granting agencies including private foundations and which grants will best meet identified needs.

If interested in the Tools for Tomorrow Project, call 605/ 856-2326 or 605/ 734-4052 and ask for Kim Hanes, project coordinator.

Navajo hope powered by the Internet

When President Bill Clinton visited Shiprock, N.M., and Diné College in April 2000, he discussed the importance of the Internet and the hope it can provide to all people, especially isolated reservations and other rural areas. Now Diné College and Crownpoint Institute of Technology are part of the Native American Broad Band High Speed Networking Consortium at Shiprock, N.M., which they expect to change the health, economic, and educational status of the Diné (Navajo) people in northwest New Mexico. They call their project the iHope Initiative.

In 1999, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) asked the Northern Navajo Medical Center in Shiprock, N.M., to help demonstrate a next generation telemedicine application, which NASA wanted to deploy in the international space station. However, Shiprock lacked the necessary infrastructure to accommodate three-dimensional healthcare images. After experimenting with temporary satellite downlink solutions, the Northern Navajo Medical Center began looking at their dormant Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) line, which was installed by the General Service Administration (GSA) in 1997.

The Northern Navajo Medical Center approached local federal and tribal organizations about sharing both the bandwidth and the costs. In addition to the two tribal colleges and the medical center, the consortium now includes the Navajo Nation, Shiprock Boys and Girls Club, a Bureau of Indian Affairs school, and the school district. By sharing costs, the consortium could access the equivalent of 28 full T-1 lines. Consortium members paid approximately $705 per month for one full T-1 where individually they previously had to pay five times as much ($3,500 per month) for just part of one T-1 access line.

Wanting to assist other Indian communities, the consortium worked with the Department of Interior to utilize a dormant tower on Mount Taylor that could provide a wireless connection. Now the consortium is expanding its membership and services. The consortium delivers iHope through unparalleled bandwidth to more than 250,000 indigenous people on the Zuni and Navajo Reservations.