Essay 5, Alicia Thomas, Transnational communities - Natives link up.

            

The dynamic of an evolving Native American culture finds itself in a unique position when it comes to the digital age. A new sense of community, fostered by the internet and other communicative abilities has emerged. This transnationalism has redefined the ?sense of place? for many tribal peoples, allowing for ?a container within which individual members negotiate meanings and construct and reconstruct different kinds of social relationships over time? (Kennedy, Roudometof, 2002, p. 6).

While new patterns are surfacing that illustrate the ability of Native people to reorganize community in different ways, there are some limitations. Native populations in the United States? unique status as sovereign nations pose multiple problems when it comes to advancing technologically.

In 1999, a study revealed that ?of rural Native American households, only 22% have cable television, 9% have personal computers, and of those, only 8% have Internet access? (Miller, Guzelian, 2003, pg 1). While Native American populations continue to grow and disperse, the continued lack of access to the digital world (most notably in rural and reservation communities) limits their ability to ?link up?. The recent development of ultrawideband ("UWB") technology, which operates by utilizing spectrum occupied by existing radio services, could provide tribes with access to high-speed, wireless telecommunications services. However, a fierce political struggle and technological debate has culminated in a recent decision by the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC" or "Commission") to limit use of UWB for outdoor communications systems (Miller, Guzelian, 2003, pg 2). This does not affect all tribes but is an underlying problem that reinforces the troubled history between the United States government and the rights of Native American sovereign nations.

These harsh political realities and reconstructions of civil liberties have forced indigenous peoples (and sovereign nations) to rethink their strategies when it comes to keeping tribal/indigenous peoples integrated.

New ?units of belonging? are emerging and offering answers for the constantly shifting landscape of Native America and its indigenous relatives worldwide. The launch of the International Indigenous Portal (IIP), a ?unique internet portal about Indigenous Peoples, for Indigenous Peoples and by Indigenous Peoples? is a project that ?will encourage Indigenous Peoples to use the Information Society to their benefit and promote capacity building? (http://iictf.blogspot.com/).

?The site is divided into eight geographical regions in order to accommodate the vast cultural diversity of the Indigenous Peoples. In each region, an Indigenous editor will control and encourage content by, for and about Indigenous Peoples in their area in any language that they chose? (http://iictf.blogspot.com/).

This project gives new life to the reality that indigenous populations on the move must find new ways to stay connected, as well as new ways of connecting, to be drawn onto the playing field of cultural globalization in the digital age. This adds new layers to the notion that there are fixed identities. Gilroy notes that the diaspora of peoples and their interactions contradict the notion that there are ?fixed identities.? He goes on to say that ?they appear at unexpected points and mark out new understandings of self, sameness and community, but they are not markers in a simple genealogical account of kin relations. Instead they provide cues and clues for the collaboration of a social ecology of cultural identity and identification? (1996, pg. 22)

Online projects such as the IIP and the aforementioned NVISION demonstrate that the concept of space is transformed and seen ?more in terms of the ex-centric communicative circuitry that has enabled dispersed populations to converse, interact and even synchronize? (Gilroy, 1996, p. 22) As I mentioned in previous essays, the shift to urban areas has robbed many tribal lands of those who could contribute most, but new ways of storytelling give reason for optimism, because through these associations, ?they share moral, aesthetic/expressive or cognitive meanings, thereby gaining a sense of personal as well as group identity.? (Kennedy, Roudometof, 2002, p. 6).

These new communities give rise to future generations of leaders among Native peoples. They have the potential to bring together the poor and disadvantaged with the educated and connected. Those in rural communities can see their own people adapting and thriving in different realities.  These connections and exchange of ideas can serve as springboards to a better way of life and to a rebirth of tribal strength, as some even make the choice to return to their home communities to serve. The possibilities are endless if the challenges are met with great resolve ? this is the future of a transnational Native/indigenous movement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gilroy, P. (1996). ?Route Work: The Black Atlantic and the Politics of Exile.? In The Post-colonial Question: Common Skies, Divided Horizons, edited by I. Chambers and L. Curti. London and New York: Routledge.

 

Kennedy, P. & Roudometof, V. (2002). Transnationalism in a global age. In P. Kennedy & V. Roudometof (Eds.), Communities Across Borders: New Immigrants and Transnational Cultures (pp. 1-26). London and New York: Routledge.

 

Miller, John C., Guzelian, Christopher P. (2003). A Spectrum Revolution: Deploying Ultrawideband Technology on Native American Lands. Comm Law Conspectus, Vol 11, Issue 2, p277, 29p.

 

http://iictf.blogspot.com/2007/06/international-indigenous-ict-task-force.html (Retrieved June 20, 2007).

 

www.nvision1.org. (Retrieved June 20, 2007.)

Posted at 12:00PM Jun 22, 2007 by alicia kathryn thomas in General  |  Comments[2]