TOHONO O’ODHAM NATION – In a vibrant building decorated with murals at Tohono O’odham Community College, students gather in a classroom around a U-shaped table. Here, they learn the basics of email writing under the guidance of course instructor Marvin Carmen. They absorbed Carmen’s instructions on writing recipients in the “To” section, developing themes for their messages, and formatting mock emails for practice.
“This is an electronic letter, this is an email,” Carmen told the students before teaching them how to send an email.
The course is one of many programs in the Tohono O’odham Nation to benefit from assistance from the Tohono O’odham Utility Authority, which recently received a $10 million USDA grant to build a fiber optic network to implement and improve reservation time Internet connection.
“This will give villages and people across the country an opportunity to get broadband service that they don’t have,” said Brian Fickett, general manager of the Public Utilities Authority.
Before fiber-optic networks improved, Tonya Joaquin, a resident of Vaya Chin Village in the Hickiwan District of the Tohono O’odham Nation, said she and her son had trouble connecting to the internet because it was so slow.
Joaquín said their internet connection was so slow that she had to move her classes to the evening so her son could connect to the internet and complete his studies during the day.
“We can still watch Netflix. We can still watch Disney+. And, you know, we can still upload and download content. However, it’s slower,” Joaquin said of their current internet connection speed.
Joaquin said the fiber optic network will help her and her family as it will allow them to submit assignments faster and watch streaming services on multiple screens.
“Overall, I believe the new generation will have a big impact because they are more comfortable with new technologies. But for the older generation, I’m not sure how this will fit into their lives because they prefer handwriting or Do everything face to face,” Joaquin said.
Connecting to the modern world
Fickett said some people on the reservation still don’t know what the Internet is.
“I quickly realized we had a problem, we had all this fiber and we were putting this really good system into the ground, but members and our customers didn’t understand what they had and how to use the service ,” Fickett said.
Kristan Johnson, telephone operations manager for the Tohono O’odham Utility Authority, believes the reason the internet has taken so long to reach seniors across the country is because It’s because English is not their native language.
“So being able to interpret modern technology into traditional language is a barrier and it’s scary,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the fear also comes from the horror stories elders hear from people outside the authorities about being watched.
Anselmo Ramon, chair of workforce and community development at the community college, said community members who have never had access to the Internet also worry that if they go online, their identities and personal information will be stolen. “People will be hesitant to get connected, especially the older generation. They don’t want that service at home. They don’t want it, even for a fee,” he said.
Johnson said it’s a slow process.
“We do educate them that while there is crime on earth, there is also virtual crime, and we just want to teach them how to be safe and how to maneuver, so that’s going to take some time,” Johnson said.
Johnson said authorities also contacted every village on the reservation to let them know they were installing fiber.
“When we leave, we let them know that we’re willing to come back to the village to teach them and put tablets, computers, phones in front of them,” Johnson said.
Fickett said authorities have been working on a plan to educate tribal residents about the benefits of internet access.
One way to do that, Fickett said, is to set up TVs and streaming services in offices to show residents what kind of TVs they can buy if they have internet.
But Fickett said his team knows that’s not enough.
“The unique thing here is that our elders don’t even know what the Internet is. So we basically have to go back and teach them what the Internet is,” Fickett said.
Fickett responded that authorities are working with community colleges to educate tribal members on the basics of internet use.
Ramon oversees a National Telecommunications and Information Administration grant-funded curriculum designed to provide Internet literacy skills to community members in 11 regions across the Tohono O’odham Nation.
Before teaching elders how to send email, community college classes teach students basic computer skills, such as the components of a computer, how to turn on the devices and how to care for them, Ramon said.
Ramon said the course is informal because there is no final exam to grade them.
“It’s basically training,” Ramon said. Students track their progress with quizzes to help them complete each section of the course.
Ramon said students are excited to see their scores improve every time they pass a test.
“They can see it themselves. They’re responsible for how far they’re going to go. So it’s not great for them to see their grades climb from 70, 60, and now I’m 80, So it motivates them, even at an older age. It really does. It helps them build confidence in their ability to learn computers,” Ramon said.
Juanita Homer, 71, a student in the course, first started using a computer in her 50s. However, it was five years before she took the course, and she had never used a laptop.
“It helps me gain new knowledge. You’re never too old to learn. I feel like I’m learning every time I come,” Homer said.
Francine Jose, 57, had never used a computer before taking the course.
“This is really new to me. Everything is new to me,” Jose said.
At times, Homer said she felt frustrated while studying, but the teacher helped them throughout the process.
Homer says it’s just a matter of practicing what they’ve learned. Training is crucial, Jose said.
“I do want to do other things, like go to school, and I know a lot of times it will require computers. I’m already behind because the future has moved toward computers, but I hope to get there soon,” Jose said.
Ramon said the grant will help community members such as students traveling from Chukut Kuk in Tohono O’odham, located near the U.S.-Mexico border, by providing them with internet connections that currently don’t exist.
Ramon said the course will give participants the skills to navigate the Internet once the utility has it set up in their homes.
Ramon said the long-term goal of the course is to “train the trainers.” They want to train 10 people to use the Internet, and then they can train family members, friends, or co-workers.
“Our goal is to get more people involved in computer literacy, understanding and training. We want this practice to grow in every region,” Ramon said.
economic and cultural opportunities
Johnson said she hopes the expansion of fiber optic networks and Internet literacy classes will eventually provide economic development opportunities for members of the Tohono Oldham Nation.
“Whether they’re a basket weaver, they’re a tailor, you know, they harvest or whatever they do, they’re able to put it on the internet and be able to sell it … you know, self-help,” Johnson said .
In addition to the economic opportunities, Fickett and Johnson said they see this as an opportunity for Tohono O’odham members to preserve their culture and heritage.
“Through broadband services and the different services they provide, we will be able to help them start a YouTube channel or start other services that will allow them to tell their story and be able to broadcast that story around the world, which has not been possible in the past ‘s being kept in a small group,” Fickett said.
Johnson and Ramon said language is another important aspect of Tohono Oldham culture that can be preserved through the Internet.
According to the UNESCO Atlas of World Languages, the Tohono O’odham language is endangered.
“So this provides another opportunity for people who have learned how to use the internet, how to connect over Zoom and how to start these conversations, build their own language groups,” Ramon said.
“She heard I was taking a computer class”
The assignment for Jose and Homer’s class was to create and send an email about one thing they learned, one thing they wanted to learn, and one thing that would help them remember.
Students walked through the process step by step. They were taught how to find the waffle and Gmail icons, and then, they examined the keyboards used to compose emails.
Homer said she hopes other community members will join the class.
“In fact, yesterday, a woman said she heard I was taking a computer class, and I said, ‘Yeah.'” She said, ‘I’ve always wanted to learn,’ and I told her, ‘Yeah, the classes are still going on. ,'” Homer said.
Homer said the woman she spoke to will call the community college to inquire about the program.