Tuesday, Mar 8 2011 10:31PM
The Havasupai tribe, who live near the Grand Canyon, will soon have broadband internet access after receiving a USDA grant.
An Arizona community college and Native American tribe have been awarded federal funding toward the expansion of distance learning and broadband Internet access, reported the Associated Press.
Jonathan Adelstein, the administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development utilities program, recently presented a $300,000 distance learning grant to northern Arizona's Coconino Community College, reported the source. Afterwards, the Adelstein joined USDA state director Alan Stephens on the nearby Havasupai reservation to announce a $2.2 million broadband project that could aid rural community development.
The Havasupai reservation is located in a gorge near the Grand Canyon, their traditional home for more than 800 years, and is home to about 450 people. Census data shows 65 percent of the tribe fell below the federal poverty level in 2009.
Socio-economic factors largely determine who has broadband Internet in the U.S. Less than half of Native American households had broadband access in 2009, according to Digital Trends, compared to 68 percent of white residences. Furthermore, in households where one person had a college degree, 84 percent had high-speed Internet, compared to about 29 percent of households in which no member had a high school diploma.