Reading Annotation 2.2

Network Sovereignty, Ch.1 & 2; It seems as if Duarte is making the point that Indigenous peoples have been regularly denied access in all things considered markers of civilization. This is not just thoroughly factual, but routinely ignored. She drives the point home with an example of sparseness, in telling of someone on the Navajo Reservation having to drive their asthmatic mother into town due to an attack requiring medical attention. In this example, she illustrates the sheer lack of modern amenities available to the Indigenous peoples where they are. It is not surprising to hear of the lack of technology, but it is discouraging to know that the problems of the past 100 years are still very much the state of things in Indian Country. As it is, I remember when Toppenish finally got cable television in 1988. I also remember when dial-up internet became available to my uncle's house, right around 2001. That said, if you drive 10 miles out on Lateral A, there are still plenty of areas where housing is only accessible by dirt roads, and there may or may not be land line phones. What is very interesting is the thought that access to ICT's will be of a different use to various Tribes, Nations, and other Indigenous peoples. Whereas Westernized values will continue to use technologies for the proliferation of that school of thought, Tribes can begin to use these tools to reclaim identities and assert their own sovereignty by proliferating their own data, knowledge, and values and actively dismantling the avenues of colonial thought and influence. Many may find the notion difficult to grasp, but do not hold the perspective of what it means to be on the short end of cultural eradication. Many tribes have lost their languages, while others have only a few native speakers remaining. A reclamation of heritage, sacred practices, preservation of language and religion, stories, wisdom, and even the arts and skills that may only be lost through time is now possible for those on the brink of losing everything when so much has already been forcibly taken. It is possible, that is, as long as no one stands in the way of them gaining access to these systems. As of now, Google Translate has the ability to interpret any language into Yucatec Maya. The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe's website has their greeting written in the Lakota language. Hopefully, this trend is able to continue.