Office of the Secretary

For Immediate Release: August 23, 2001

(WASHINGTON) - "Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton today praised the strong partnership that brought the last Bureau of Indian Affairs school online. Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Neal McCaleb, teachers and students celebrated the final hookup today at the Chichiltah/Jones Ranch Community School on the Navajo Reservation outside Gallup, N.M. 

"The last roadblock facing Indian children on the Information Superhighway was knocked down today," Norton said. "The President has told us to leave no child behind, and BIA, working with incredible partners, has turned that vision into a reality for teachers, students and communities throughout Indian Country."

"I'm delighted to be part of the excitement and pride that is in all of our hearts as we reach out to the last four BIA schools and to Indian school children everywhere and give them the wonders of the Internet and a connection with one another," Assistant Secretary McCaleb said at today's ceremony at Chichiltah/Jones school.

BIA created the Access Native America project, with the goal of bringing online all 185 elementary and secondary schools, serving nearly 50,000 students, many in some of the most remote locations in the United States. At the time, only one school had Internet access. Partnerships were forged. The U.S. Geological Survey provided engineering and networking expertise, Microsoft, Intel, and ProjectNeat provided hardware and software, and the Universities of Texas and Kansas developed education content and training for teachers and students. 

This summer, 50 teachers from BIA schools received training at the Pueblo of Laguna, Laguna, NM through Intel's "Teach to the Future" program. Each teacher will return to their school and train 10 of their co-workers how to connect technology with instruction. By the end of next year, more than 500 teachers will be skilled at using the Internet in their classrooms. In addition, parents, and others in Indian communities, will be given the opportunity to use Internet access at the school facilities to link to online libraries, museums, scientific and educational sites and to strengthen and share their unique cultural heritage. 
 

The last four BIA schools given Internet access were Winslow Dormitory, Winslow, Ariz., Baca Community School, Prewitt, N.M., Jicarilla Dormitory, Dulce, N.M. and the Chichiltah Community School, where today's event was held. The program's total cost was about $20 million.