College Of Business At Colorado State University Donates Computers, Related Services To Wind River Reservation
Friday, July 10, 1998
FORT COLLINS--The Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone
tribes of Wyoming's Wind River Reservation will pursue
educational goals and tribal business online through a donation
of computer equipment and services from Colorado State
University's College of Business.
Ten personal computer systems - five Pentiums and five 486
models - were given to each tribe. In addition, Colorado State
students participating in a computer information technology class
this fall will conduct on-site technological assessments to
determine each tribe's needs, how best to use existing computer
resources and how to plan for future improvements.
Daniel Costello, dean of Colorado State's College of
Business, first met with tribal council members a year ago to
look at possible avenues of cooperation. As a result, tribal and
Colorado State representatives met recently at the reservation
near Lander, Wyo., to explore educational linkages based on an
agreement between the university and the two tribes.
Karen McDaniel, diversity coordinator for the business
school, said the memorandum of understanding includes, and goes
beyond, recruiting students from the reservation. Cooperative
projects under discussion will require funding sources but, "I do
think there are possibilities," McDaniel said.
Merle Haas, director of Sky People Higher Education Program
for the Arapaho tribe, said requests for the computers quickly
generated what she hoped will be the first of many donations from
various sources. Machines went to the Northern Arapaho Tribal
Committee for administrative work and to the education program
Haas heads to provide computers for community college students
and give them Internet access to financial aid sources.
"Other [tribal] members are still working with older model
typewriters," she said. "There are a few computers around, but a
lot of them were outdated and couldn't be hooked to the Internet.
With computers, we could have more cost-effective programs."
The Northern Arapaho could also realize a dream that began
to take shape this year: the Wind River Community College in
Ethete, Wyo., an institution-in-planning that acting president
Burnett Whiteplume hopes can begin offering classes this fall.
Four of the machines will be used in the effort to establish the
school.
"We're planning to use computers for training purposes for
students," Whiteplume said. "We need to catch up with the rest of
the world with our computer technology."
Caroline Mills, Shoshone higher education director, said
computers were distributed to a Shoshone-owned nursing home to
enable residents to stay in touch with family and friends, and to
a tribal construction business, credit program, recreation
program and fire station. Two also went to the enrollment office,
which determines eligibility for tribal membership.
"This is where Colorado State students will assist in
setting up and putting files on computers," Mills said. "They
will be looking at putting information into a data base. Right
now, [to check records] our staff is looking through paper files
stored in folders."
With additional equipment donations, Mills said, "Down the
road, we hope to connect computers so that people can e-mail
rather than phone each other or try to gather everyone together
in one place for a meeting.
"We're also looking to Colorado State for computer
education. There's a big interest among tribal members in basic
computer classes. Kids learn about them in school, while the
older people are a little scared but interested."
Mills said the Shoshone eventually want to offer their own
computer classes for adults and provide computers for students
taking classes at a community college 35 miles away.
"Everyone is real pleased that they've got some decent
equipment," she said.
McDaniel, of Colorado State's business college, said
university representatives learned that the opportunities that
exist are not traditional ones.
"We have a distance master's program that could be delivered
on the reservation, and I think we'll be looking at distance
education programs that would fit their requirements perhaps
better than trying to recruit large numbers of students" to the
Fort Collins campus, she said.
"I think there are distance education relationships that
could be implemented, interns who could be exchanged and faculty
sabbaticals that could address tribal needs, and I believe we
could have an impact on the community college if it gets
started."
The computer donation goes beyond the material goods and
helps develop a relationship that benefits Colorado State, the
Arapaho and Shoshone, said Darwin St. Clair Jr., a Shoshone,
Colorado State graduate and academic adviser at the university.
About five years ago, as assistant director of Native
American Student Services, St. Clair set up a summer camp that
brought fourth through sixth graders to the Fort Collins campus.
The aim was to establish community, communication and
familiarity, "so that Colorado State isn't 'way out there,'" he
said.
"Instead, it's a place you've been to and know, and there's
an established relationship with the University and with the
tribes."
A group of some dozen students in grades four through six
from the reservation will visit Colorado State's main and Pingree
Park campuses July 12-18. Both tribes would like to see what St.
Clair calls the "pipeline" extended to older students
"Colorado State can be Wind River tribes' gate to the
world," St. Clair said. "Any university can do that, but Colorado
State really has that potential."
"This College of Business initiative is making Colorado
State look very good in the eyes of our tribe," he said.
New computers are purchased by Colorado State students
through technology fees for use in computer laboratory facilities
in the business school's Rockwell Hall. Some older but still
useful models are refurbished and given away every few years,
said business school information technology manager Robert
Cermak.
An additional 10 refurbished computers were given to Pawnee
School of the RE12 School District in Grover, a small town 40
miles northeast of Fort Collins.
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