The Makah and the Internet

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

(The last time the Makah were in the news, it was because they were
successful in overcoming reactionary green attempts to prevent them from
hunting whales. When the greens howled about the fact that they were using
high-powered rifles to bag the whale, the Makah replied reasonably that it
was necessary to use the latest tools to help sustain their traditional ways.)

NY Times, June 6, 2003
On the Reservation, the Web Plays Dream Maker
By NANCY GOHRING

NEAH BAY, Wash.

ISOLATED on the coast of northwest Washington, the Makah Indians are
accustomed to making do with little. In the winter, when the fishing
industry slows down, more than half the 1,200 residents of the
47-square-mile reservation are unemployed. There is no traffic light in the
reservation's town, Neah Bay. It takes nearly two hours driving along a
narrow, winding road to reach the nearest city, Port Angeles.

But the Makah are hoping that the Internet can provide a bridge to prosperity.

Backed by an association of Northwest tribes, the Makah are moving toward
realizing a technological vision that includes offering reservation
residents video on demand, distance learning, online medical consultation
and Internet-based telephone service - all using a wireless network built
and maintained by Indians and benefiting the tribe.

"Now our world isn't that isolated," said Micah McCarty, a Makah taking
part in a trial of an initial phase of the service.

full: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/05/technology/circuits/05trib.html


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