Just as the Internet was opening up the world, the members of the Havasupai Indian reservation in Arizona felt the walls closing in on them.

Living at the basin of the Grand Canyon, the Supai are isolated on all sides by high canyon walls that make even radio communications impossible. Cable, fiber, and ISDN Internet access, common in densely populated areas, are prohibitive luxuries for this remote reservation.

In short, the "Information Age" gives the Supai reason to feel even more isolated. No group among them has suffered more from this isolation than the Supai children. It was bad enough that these children were left out of the revolution in web-based education. Even worse, they faced a cut-off in critical Head Start services, triggered by changes in the federal program. Head Start now requires teachers in every state to obtain an associate degree in early childhood development or a related field by 2003 and certification by 2005, or face disqualification from the program.

While meeting these requirements is a challenge for many Head Start programs, they absolutely threaten to wall-off geographically remote Indian reservations such as the Supai's.

Fortunately, the Supai decided to take destiny into their hands. They used satellite technology to vault the canyon walls, to open their isolated community, and save their Head Start program.

They did this by turning to Northern Arizona University#,1 an institution experienced in using the Internet and video-conferencing to broadcast higher education classes to isolated communities. Using a federal grant to install satellite dishes, the Supai contracted with StarBand Communications for six satellite dishes: one in the Head Start office; another at the Indian Child Welfare Act office; two at the school; one at the tribal court; and another at the tourist lodge. Now the Supai are working with the university to have an early childhood education program beamed into the community.

A similar story is unfolding in New Mexico, where only 13 percent of Head Start teachers have their associates degree. In this state, the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI)2 has stepped forward to help train Native American Head Start teachers online.

SIPI began with a response to requests from tribal leaders, developing a 70-hour associates degree program in early childhood education that can be delivered by satellite to remote tribal sites in New Mexico.

Early in 2000, SIPI began satellite broadcasts of a two-credit introductory course in child development to the Head Start staff located at the Santa Clara Pueblo. By April 2000, three other downlink sites came online-Mescalero Apache, Southern Ute, and Canoncito Chapter of Navajo. Santo Domingo Pueblo and Jicarilla Apache have installed their own downlinks and are now served by programming from SIPI.

By December 2000, additional sites will be operational with SIPI downlinks at Laguna Pueblo, Ramah Navajo, Alamo Navajo, and Jemez Pueblo. More advanced courses required for national Head Start certification are also being broadcast to sites at the request of tribal leaders.

The early childhood education degree program, which will be transferable to four-year institutions in the state, will begin January 2001 with an enrollment of 60 student-employees of a tribal Head Start Program.

Harlan McKostao, producer of the national call-in radio program "Native America Calling," sees in these efforts the beginning of a greater opportunity for the reservation to link to the wider world. Connecting tribal schools, colleges, and community centers, McKostao says, is critical because "if you get the school online, you get the whole community."

1. See http://www.nau.edu.

2. See http://kafka.sipi.tec.nm.us.