COMMONS nº 3

COMMONS - Revista de Comunicación y Ciudadanía Digital Publicación bianual Volumen 2, Número 3

ISSN 2255-3401

Noviembre 2013

CHALLENGES FACED IN OVERCOMING INDIGENOUS DIGITAL DIVIDE IN Isis Valle Rodríguez da Costa / Fernando Oliveira Paulino

Fecha de envío: 01/09/2013

Fecha de aprobación: 11/11/2013 Challenges faced in overcoming indigenous digital divide in brazil 92

CHALLENGES FACED IN OVERCOMING INDIGENOUS DIGITAL DIVIDE IN BRAZIL

DESAFÍOS ENCARADOS PARA SUPERAR LA BRECHA DIGITAL COMMONS INDÍGENA EN BRASIL. Isis Valle Rodrigues da Costa Fernando Oliveira Paulino

Resumen Abstract

El objetivo de este trabajo es identificar el nivel de This paper’s objective is to identify the level of digital inclusión digital realizado por el programa brasileño inclusion made possible by Brazilian digital divide program de inclusión digital Gobierno Electrónico - Servicio de Electronic Government – Citizen Attention Service (Governo Atención al Ciudadano (Governo Eletrônico - Serviço de Eletrônico – Serviço de Atendimento ao Cidadão – Gesac) Atendimento ao Cidadão - Gesac) en tierras indígenas. Nos on indigenous lands. We are guided by Brazilian sociologist guiamos por el sistema de inclusión digital del sociólogo Bernardo Sorj’s five level digital inclusion system: 1) the brasileño Bernardo Sorj, quien identifica cinco niveles: 1) existence of physical transmission infrastructure, 2) the la existencia de una infraestructura física de transmisión, availability of equipment/connection, 3) training in the 2) la disponibilidad de equipamiento/conexión, 3) use of computing tools and the , 4) the intellectual capacitación en el uso de herramientas informáticas e ability and social integration, and 5) the production and internet, 4) la capacidad intelectual e la integración social, use of specific content. e 5) la producción y uso de contenidos específicos. Our hypothesis is that, despite an official discourse Nuestra hipótesis es que, a pesar del discurso oficial aligned with the discussions on the knowledge societies, alineado con los debates sobre las sociedades del in practice, Gesac is still operated by a technological conocimiento, en la práctica, Gesac todavía está operado determinism. To test this hypothesis, we performed the por un determinismo tecnológico. Para probar esta observation of the point in the indigenous hipótesis, realizamos la observación del punto de acceso school Pamáali, of Baniwa and Coripaco ethnicities, located a internet en la escuela indígena Pamáali, ubicado en la in the northwestern area of the Brazilian Amazon. We also zona noroccidental de la Amazonia brasileña. También discussed and conducted interviews with actors involved hemos discutido y llevado a cabo entrevistas con los in the implementation of digital inclusion programs aimed actores involucrados en la implementación de programas at indigenous peoples: ministries and Indian National de inclusión digital dirigida a los pueblos indígenas: los Foundation (FUNAI) officials, representatives of the third ministerios y funcionarios de la Fundación Nacional del sector and indigenous themselves. Indio (FUNAI), representantes del tercer sector y los propios indígenas. The challenges we identify lead to the conclusion that indigenous digital divide is just one of the several divides Los desafíos que identificamos llevan a la conclusión de to which indigenous groups are subjected since colonial que la brecha digital indígena es sólo una de las varias times, being one more consequence of these divides at brechas a que los grupos indígenas son sometidos the same time that it also accentuates them. As long as desde tiempos coloniales, siendo una consecuencia más Brazilian government’s digital inclusion actions aimed de estas divisiones a la vez que también las acentúa. at indigenous peoples are not created and implemented Mientras las acciones de inclusión digital del gobierno as part of a broader indigenous policy and do not take brasileño dirigidos a los pueblos indígenas no se hagan into consideration the specificities of these groups, these e implementen como parte de una política indígena más initiatives will be limited to providing internet connection amplia y no tengan en cuenta las especificidades de estos and donating equipment that shall either remain underused grupos, estas iniciativas se limitaran a brindar conexión a or will rapidly deteriorate. internet y la donación de equipos que serán subutilizados o se deterioran rápidamente.

Palabras clave Keywords

Brecha digital indígena, brecha digital, Gesac, Indigenous Digital Divide. Digital Divide. Gesac. movimientos indígenas, TIC. Indigenous Movements. ICT.

1. Introduction

Brazilian indigenous peoples living in their own lands have late access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Internet access started to be available in indigenous lands only in 2003, almost ten

Revista Comunicación y Ciudadanía Digital - COMMONS 93 COMMONS On the 2010 Census, 817,963 (less than 0.44% of total Brazilian total of 0.44% than (less Brazilians 817,963 Census, 2010 the On ted in indigenous villages in 2010, most of them implemented after 2007 after implemented them of most 2010, in villages indigenous in ted loca- points access internet 111 around out pointed Renesse de Nicodème anthropologist by out carried survey partial A conditions. precarious very accesspointsareindigenous lands, limited still innumbersandoperate in societies knowledge and teninclusion, almost and digital years after the arrival informationof theinternet in around discourse official Despite society –andtruedigitalinclusionpassesthrough connection” (p.9). knowledge the of step first the – information to access simple the between bridge a building of challenge “the that the argues (2011) 2010’s, Manual Point Gesac the of beginning the By inclusion. social thus and citizenship the 2000’s, access to the internet is officially advertised as a tool to promote ElectronicGovernmentevolutionthe the Programof creation).With in and participation generation, knowledge training, (education, one intellectual spheres: a technical/physical one (awareness, contact and basic use) and an two worldincludes digital the to access of right the governmentthat states electronic Brazil’s of inclusion digital the on premises General document which ends up been unofficially discontinued seven years later. In program,2001, the this of context the in of thought first is Gesac 10). p. 2000, logia, Tecnoe Ciência - da (Ministério society” new the in Brazilians all of clusion wayin- a social technologies,in contributestothe communication that and “integrate, coordinate and stimulate actions towards the use of information to objective the with Program, Society Information the of launch the with official made is ICT of universalization the in engage to will policy.The de divi digital a for need the acknowledge to begins networks, internet and telephone on country,especially the in enormous ICT of the deployment the of in disparity face in government, Brazilian 1990’s, the of end the By pal, third-sector oreven private entities’initiatives. munici- state, federal, other with partnership in or itself Gesac) and are not for privateCommunications use. Gesac offers free internet access and isolated regions. Internet service is provided directly by theMinistryof distant most the serve to possible it makes which link; satellite by mainly dadão tizen Attention Service (Governo Eletrônico – Serviço de Atendimento ao Ci Ci – GovernmentElectronicprogram inclusion digital Communications’ of points located inindigenous communities are provided under the Ministry access internet the of Most intervention. state through possible only was ture inthese regions, internet accessinindigenous implementation lands consequent the and potential oflack interest of telecommunication companies in developing infrastruc economic low peoples’ traditional to Due 1995. in country the in implemented was internet commercial after years

– Challenges facedinovercomingindigenousdigitaldividebrazil COMMONS -Revista Comunicación yCiudadanía Digital 1 - - - - . approved ordeployed. was point given differentiate a whether to allow not does ambiguous which tracking, points’ access of lack and actors, records also extremeand programs the of fragmentation out (2011) points Renesse presenca-em-operacao. localizacao-dos-pontos-de- administracao-de-pontos/ http://www.gesac.gov.br/ See Gesac Web site: zone. rural and lands indigenous in communities exact an distinction between villages/ make not does which site, Web Gesac in the available the made of records exact specificity low to the an due difficult is Reachingnumber 1.

Challenges faced in overcoming indigenous digital divide in brazil 94 COMMONS

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population) declared themselves to be Indians. They belong to 238 diffe rent peoples, speaking 180 different languages. Almost two thirds of them live in the countryside, which comprehends indigenous lands. According to Instituto Socioambiental (ISA), a Brazilian Public Interest Civil Society- Organization, there are 682 indigenous lands in different stages of official recognition by the end of 2012 in Brazil. They represent 13% of the Bra zilian territory. For all practical purposes, we can assume that 13% of the Brazilian territory, 112,870,218 hectares – more than the area of France and Spain put together –, are covered by only 111 internet access points that should serve more than 500,000 people.

Furthermore, from data collected on the 1st Indigenous Symposium on the- Uses of (1° Simpósio Indígena sobre Usos da Internet no Brasil), which Renesse helped to coordinate in 2010, the researcher conclu- ded that around 70 to 80% of internet access points located in indigenous areas either do not work because they are damaged or are not properly con usersfigured, in becausethe community. the access points are not completely installed or because the agreements have expired, or they are not used due to lack of trained

In this article, we try to identify the challenges to be overcome in order to have an effective democratization of internet access among indigenous peoples. We question the level of digital inclusion made possible by Gesac on indigenous lands. Our hypothesis is that, despite an official discourse- aligned with the discussions on the information society, and more recently- on the knowledge societies, in practice, Gesac is still operated by a technolo gical determinism. It means that it is hoped that technology alone – the avai- lability of internet connection and computing equipment – will be enough to promote social participation and citizenship among the beneficiary com- mentation,munity. Thus, as theythe program do neither and provide other initiativesfor updates that and use for its the connection repair or redo- not consider the follow through of internet access points after their imple

placement of damaged or outdated equipment nor for continuous training to the users. Thus, the access points are easily and often subject to technical- problems that result in underuse or even obsolescence. We hope the results inclusionof this research initiatives are ortaken evaluating into consideration and reformulating by public old managers,ones. new In dian leaderships and third sector activists when conceptualizing new digital

used to collect information about Gesac access points located on indigenous This article is divided into six sections. In section two, we expose the method

Revista Comunicación y Ciudadanía Digital - COMMONS 95 COMMONS interviewed one of the four members of the school’s staff, the secretary. We also we them, Besides teachers. seven the with interviews in-depth made and year that school the attending students 56 the of 55 to questionnaire subject the closed on a applied We students. and teachers by ICT of the uses of observation non-participatory a performed we School, Pamáali At pulation (Census2010). zilian municipality with the highest concentration of Indians, 77% of its po- and Venezuela.Colombia This indigenous Brazil,land is part of of São Gabriel da borderCachoeira, the Brathe - on Amazon, Brazilian the of area tern northwesthe - at situated Land, Indigenous Negro Rio Alto the in located is Brazil built and administered by the Indians themselves, founded in 2000. It ties Baniwa and Coripaco, one of the first indigenous educational centers in ethnici indigenous the of school secondary and primary a is This 2003. in one of the first indigenous locations to receive a Gesac Pamáali, internet access school point, indigenous the on research field a conducted we 2011, In 2. Method shall eitherremain underusedorwillrapidly deteriorate. that equipment donating and connection internet providing to limited be groups and are not part of a broader these indigenous policy,of these initiatives will specificities the consideration into take not do peoples digenous in- at aimed actions inclusion digital state’s Brazilian as long as Therefore, consequence of these divides at the same time that it also accentuates them. which indigenous groups are subjected since colonial times, being one more indigenous divideclusion thatdigital is just oneof the severaldivides to trainingof lack evenor interest. wechallenges The to leadcon- identify the mighteven remainuntouched for fear ofbreakage dueto thepopulation’s or misuse to subject is equipment the there, Once damaged. already there genous communities and transport, which causes some equipment to arrive One of the constraints we found is the enormous difficulty of access to indi Andfinally,priation oftheinternet. we conclude. the humanvariableto unravel theindigenous’ potentialfor active appro - indigenous lands to Ontheeighth, theinternet. theanalysis is centered on connecting in found physicalchallenges the on focus seventh,we the On it. with doing aretheywhat and ICT using investigateweIndians the arewho sixth, the relevantBrazil.On divideof in digital literatureindigenous about review a make we section, fourth the On results. our the guide achieve and to analysis used framework theoretical the three, section in and, lands Challenges facedinovercomingindigenousdigitaldividebrazil COMMONS -Revista Comunicación yCiudadanía Digital - - Challenges faced in overcoming indigenous digital divide in brazil 96 COMMONS

also gathered the students’ perceptions of communications tools in a three-

day workshop we promoted on the subject to the secondary students. The- students came from 12 different Baniwa and Coripaco communities located along the Içana river and its effluents and they were 18 years old in ave rage – the younger one was 11 years old and the older, 37. Just a few were Coripaco and only ten were girls. Among the seven teachers, only one was female, most them aged between 25 and 30 years, and two were Tukanos, one, Coripaco and all the others, Baniwa.

We also conducted in-depth interviews with other indigenous leaderships involved with Pamáali, such as a former teacher, the deputy mayor of São Gabriel da Cachoeira and a Rio Negro Indigenous Organizations Federation (Federação das Organizações Indígenas do Rio Negro - Foirn) director, all of- them Baniwa Indians; and internet or indigenous matters specialists, such as internet specialist and pioneer in Brazil, João Ramirez and ISA’s consul tant Laíse Lopes Diniz.

Before heading through the indigenous lands to the school, we took part in a- workshop promoted by ISA and Foirn about social networks and Web tools. The workshop was conducted by João Ramirez – who later became a con sultant to ISA – aimed at indigenous leaderships from several indigenous communities of the Rio Negro region with the objective to show the Indians- how to publish content on the Web through open tools such as YouTube, theyWordpress, faced. Twitter and Flickr, for example. During this workshop, the parti cipants talked about the uses of ICT on each community and the difficulties

- In 2013, we had the opportunity to cross all the material gathered in the field in São Gabriel da Cachoeira in 2011 with information from semi-struc tured interviews and talks we conducted with officials from the ministries of Communications and Culture, the Indian National Foundation (Fundação Nacional do Índio - FUNAI), the Amazon Protection System (Sistema de Proteção da Amazônia - SIPAM), National Learning and Research Network (Rede Nacional de Ensino e Pesquisa - RNP) and three mayors from cities located in municipalities with significant indigenous population. -

We also analyzed all the primary and secondary sources of official infor mation and statistics we could find on Gesac, Pontos de Cultura Indígena- (Points of Indigenous Culture – the indigenous digital divide program from the Ministry of Culture) and Amazon Protection System (Sistema de Pro teção da Amazônia – Sipam) Telecenters related to indigenous peoples.

Revista Comunicación y Ciudadanía Digital - COMMONS 97 COMMONS inequalities, and the new inequalities new the and inequalities, divides “are digital of author,kinds the differentForhave-nots. and haves ICT between difference the as divide digital the of view one-dimensional primary a tion opposi- in 14) (p. consequences” potential its process,and this of causes of multitude the access, of kinds different of sequence a “as divide digital the presents example, for (2005), Dijk van M. G. A. Jan professor Dutch 2005). grounds, etc., and their combinations (Stillo, 2012; UNESCO, 2005; van Dijk, age, gender,social andcultural educational, employment, language, back tive; related to different variables, such as geographic localization, ethnicity, king about numeral divides: scientific, educational, cultural and even cogni- inclusion as the driving force for social change. Several authors are now tal tion of digital divide as amere repercussion of social divide and thedigital concep- the overcomingare scholars Contemporary 5). p. 2005, Dijk, (van computer and an Internet connection does not solve any of these problems” of digital divide around the world, it has been noticed that “giving someone a However, over the years, with the advances in technology and the deepening linear advance ofscienceandtechnology (Stillo,2012). countries” (as cited in Camacho, 2006; Stillo, 2012), development being the levelsame the developmenttoaccess of them industrialized allow that will tics by Third World countries and the implementation of a policy in this area Atped countries. UNESCOtime, that thought of informaadoption “the that nous digital dividenous digital only not technical asa matter,and usage as skills also but indige the examine to us allowing determinism, technological beyond go would that model theoretical a for searched we lands, indigenous in Gesac In order to tryanddetermine the level of digital inclusion madepossibleby technology, socialgaps continueto besignificantinsociety. of spread the and development the with even Thus, 5). p. 2005, Dijk, (van ciety took shape with the rapid development and diffusion so- information the around discussions the when 1970’s, the of end the by Scientific Cultural Organization (UNESCO) imbued this determinist thinking and community building (van Dijk, 2005). Even United Nations Educational toproblemsfix able inequality, of democracy, freedom, relationships,social van Dijk, 2005), which leads to the thinking that technology alone would be UNESCO,2005; 2010; Saéz, 2009; (Romani,processescultural and nomical Technological determinism places the technology at the center of social, eco- 3. TheoreticalFramework byproducts of old inequalities, digital technology are appearing” Challenges facedinovercomingindigenousdigitaldividebrazil

COMMONS -Revista Comunicación yCiudadanía Digital [original

of is intensifying ICT in develo emphasis] - - - - - Challenges faced in overcoming indigenous digital divide in brazil 98 COMMONS

- issues. Van Dijk (2005) decomposes digital skills into three distinct sets: instrumental (the ability to technically operate computing equipment), in formational (the ability to research, select, process and apply information)- and strategic (the ability to use this information to improve one’s position in sociologistsociety). In Bernardothis article, Sorj: we are guided by the five new information and com munications technologies universalization indicators identified by Brazilian

1) The existence of physical transmission infrastructure – transmission systems, such as electric or TV cables, telephone, satellite or radio; 2) The availability of equipment/connection – usually computer, modem and internet connection; 3) Training in the use of computing tools and the internet – also know as e-literacy, can be either formal or informal; 4) The intellectual ability and social integration – “the possibility of using the information available on the internet as a source of knowledge and intellectual and professional development depends on the user’s previous training” (Sorj, 2003, p. 68) and his personal network; andlopment depends on the user’s previous training” (Sorj, 2003, p. 68) and his personal network; and 5) The production and use of specific contents suitable for the needs of the various segments of the population. - ne the usefulness of the previous levels, in a linear progression. Levels one For Sorj, each of these levels is a precondition for the next and will determi

and two constitute the passive dimension of the access to the internet while the last three define the potential of active appropriation. Researcher Víctor Manuel Marí Saéz (2010) points out appropriation as “the ability to claim for one’s self and incorporate what is not possessed (the technology) from what is already known and had (cosmovisions, imaginaries, operation and organization logic)” (p. 8).

This active dimension of internet access is well explored by researcher Kemly Camacho (2006), who addresses the digital divide by three basic approaches, that follows the evolution of this concept through time:

a) Infrastructural approach: the possibility/difficulty to have computers connected to the internet; b) Capacitation approach: the capacity to use these technologies, or digital literacy;

Revista Comunicación y Ciudadanía Digital - COMMONS 99 COMMONS flexibility and the increasing convergence of technologies. UNESCO (2005) UNESCO technologies. convergenceof increasing the and flexibility networklogic, the penetraof dominance - the technologies, new effectsof the of tion high the material, raw its as information features: fundamental following the has 2000), Werthein, by cited (as Castells to according that, technology,information of one the paradigm, new a around built is society of kind This information. of power the on founded society network the as society information the defines (2001) Castells Manuel sociologist Spanish three mainquestions: pose we lands, indigenous on Gesac bypromoted inclusion digital the sess Considering this contemporaryapproach, multidimensional inorder to as content paradigm, muchrelated to staticmedia. the plethoraand services ofapplications availableonline, goingbeyond the include could view, our in which, resources, about talks She information. on only focused not possibilities, digital of view broader a has Camacho –, information on focus (2005) Dijk van by defined skills strategic and tional the other hand, while Sorj’s level five is limited to content – and the informa On Camacho. in found not is Sorj byintegration mentioned social the while technologyuse ofdigital involves oralso one’sglobalintellectual abilities, approachclear ifthecapacitation islimited torelated theabilities to the not is It five. level Sorj’s beyond goes approach resources the while three Sorj’s levels one and two and the capacitation approach matches Sorj’s level It is interesting tothe infrastructural noticethat approach encompasses 4. Reviewofrelevantliterature to usetheresources available online. resourcesof c) Use approach: havepeople that limitation/possibility the internet by indigenouspeoples? social and/orlinguisticbarriers thatfurtherhindertheaccessto the 3. Besides poor infrastructure, are there educational, intellectual, cultural, 2. Whoare what theIndiansusinginternet, for andhow? to infrastructure internet physical of of creation accommodate internet accesspointsinindigenousterritories? the provision even and commissioning connection equipment, of implementation computing the concerning problems logistical the are What 1. Challenges facedinovercomingindigenousdigitaldividebrazil COMMONS -Revista Comunicación yCiudadanía Digital - -

Challenges faced in overcoming indigenous digital divide in brazil 100 COMMONS

highlights that information society is based on technological breakthroughs and searches for a concept that encompasses much broader social, ethical

and political dimensions. This would be the concept of “knowledge societies, identify,where knowledge produce, process,is a public transform, good, available disseminate to each and and use every information individual” to (p. 18). For the organization, “knowledge societies are about capabilities to-

build and apply knowledge for human development. They require an em powering social vision that encompasses plurality, inclusion, solidarity and participation” (p. 27). - UNESCO (2005) points out that the role of knowledge in our societies has been revolutionized by the growth of the internet, mobile telephony and di- gital technologies, that play a role both in economic (through innovation and- productivity) and human development. Also, that information is a knowled ge-generating tool, but not knowledge itself. The organization acknowled ges the existence of a knowledge divide, widened by the digital divide, and that there is still a long way to knowledge societies. This knowledge divide “adds up the cumulative effects of the various rifts observed in the main areas that make up knowledge (access to information, education, scientific research, and cultural and linguistic diversity)” (UNESCO, 2005, p. 22). It is- rooted in what UNESCO calls gaps between forms of knowledge and gaps within different kinds of knowledge, that cover inequalities in the distribu tion of cognitive potential and the unequal value put on different types of knowledge in the knowledge economy. - In Brazil, few researchers are interested in indigenous digital divide and the- formationnumber of Science, works on is athis pioneer theme on is the still subject quite andrestricted, has been even studying though the it in- creases year by year. Chilean researcher Alejandra Aguilar Pinto, PhD in In - tegration of indigenous peoples in the information society since 1999, when she started her master research on indigenous Information in Latin Ameri ca and the Caribbean. On her PhD research, Pinto went to study information and digital inclusion practices in Kariri-Xocó and Pankararu Brazilian Indian- penstribes. not The only researcher in relation remarks to digital that media, in Brazil but indigenous it is inscribed peoples’ in a historical contacts with ICT are marked by restricted access to hardware. This exclusion hap

context continuum marked by lack of access to all kinds of information since- tions,colonial but times. also inOfficial formal documentation institutions, such “since as thelibraries beginning and archiveswas prejudicial and in towards the native populations, not only for their artistic and literary crea

information services/products” (Pinto, 2010, p. 7).

Revista Comunicación y Ciudadanía Digital - COMMONS 101 COMMONS the group’s internal organization and generating conflicts. Many traditional with colliding partners, project of agenda external the to limited is use net a governanceor plan,don’t even have suchInthese a plan.groups, inter in don’tincorporatemedia that groups have wethe ger.hand, other the On stron- group entire the and leaderships the makes opinion, their in which, service, decisions’ and project political the at is internet the them, Among project. political a in media include that groups the havewe hand, one the trendsinclusion projects’ inindigenousdigital coursesdestinations.On and betweentwodistinction veryclear a Renesse identified communities. their indigenous peoplesto discussthemselves among theusesofinternet in at the Universidade de São Paulo (USP) with representatives of 16 different Brazil in Internet of uses the on Symposium Indigenous 1st the coordinate RenessetoNovemberde helped anthropologistIn Nicodème Belgian 2010, ethno-ecologist discourse,which iseffective inaglobal scale. an is there and Brazil in sphere national the in operating policies public to access and citizenship concerning discourse legalist a Thereis leaderships. movementsand indigenous by discourses distinct two of use the identifies life contemporaneousthe in world. French (2007) anthropologistAlbert Bruce of ways indigenous of maintenance the justifies it that time same the at organizations indigenous of legitimacy the guarantees market projects the Indian,suchasrole ofprotector of theforest. Ethnodevelopmental the barbaric Indian and recover some useful aspects of the romantic view of development.tainable Ethnodevelopmentprojects aside theimageof put model, indigenous movementsactors positionIndiansasimportant for sus- developmentalist the and society industrial of questioning the and issues environmental with concern of level high a by marked context global a In sectors, religious organizations andcooperation agencies. Indian causesfrom different sources, privatesuch asthepublic, or third resourcesto gather to man’s”artifice “white a areProjects conditions. ving doing things inorder to survive andachieve concreteof improvements ontheirli way and institutions “white” to adapt to are peoples indigenous (2006a), PhD in Anthropology, addresses the projects market issue and how bility. On his masters thesis, Baniwa Indian Gersem José dos Santos Luciano clusion programs andhopingforand for itseligibility the programs’ availa by elaboratingprojecta proposal, toit submitting governmentalin digital antenna Gesac a forrequest a file to Indians the to up is It government. the nications infrastructure inindigenous territoryprimary concern isnotafor customerstial by telecommunications companies,anddevelopingcommu At the present time, indigenous populations are not considered to be poten - Challenges facedinovercomingindigenousdigitaldividebrazil COMMONS -Revista Comunicación yCiudadanía Digital - - - - - Challenges faced in overcoming indigenous digital divide in brazil 102 COMMONS

leaderships see the internet in the hands of the young ones as “a threat to their authority, to the social order and to the group itself” (Renesse, 2011, p. 24). Moreover, indigenous attendees of the Symposium realized that they all deal with problems that are common to all of them: outdated equipment, slow and intermittent connections, lack of technical assistance and lack of access to software.

Many of these problems were also identified by Brazilian communications researcher Isis Valle Rodrigues da Costa in her field research among Baniwa Indians in the Alto Rio Negro Indigenous Land in the beginning of 2011. Costa went to the Pamáali School in order to observe and analyze the use of the internet by students, teachers and other new Indian leaderships. Costa found out that, despite indigenous will to use internet as a learning tool, several obstacles – from poor connection to lack of electricity, equipment and training – make its use restricted to a select number of teachers, usually speedschool up and communications ethnodevelopmental among projects’ distant leaderships managers. Theand tointernet formulate is a protool- used by new leaderships to stay in touch with supporters and partners, to-

jects to obtain necessary resources for the school and for Baniwa and Cori paco peoples as a whole. Pamáali’s Gesac access point and the school itself are political tools used to (re)construct Baniwa and Coripaco identities and to fight for self-determination. The school blog (pamaali.wordpress.com), created in 2007, is the most important visibility tool for the Baniwa people. - The visibility issue is treated by Xenya de Aguiar Bucchioni on her master thesis (2010), in which she studied the Online Indians Network (Rede Ín- dios Online), a network of various indigenous peoples in search of human,- cultural, social and economic development that maintains the website Ín dios Online (http://www.indiosonline.net). Bucchionni identifies two di- mensions of visibility in indigenous discourses; one linked to existence and the other to the notion of protagonism. According to the researcher, indige protagonistnous appropriation dimension of digital refers environmentto the possibility is part of constructionof the need for of existencean ‘alter- native’in the eyes communication of the world space,and is guidedlinked toby a themeshistorical other resistance than those process. dictated The by traditional media, and it is an important factor in the process of identi- -

ty construction. This aspect, in the words of Bucchionni (2010), is an “es sential element for the symbolic reworking of indigenous cultures in order to insert them in building the future and in the present context” (p. 50). Positioning themselves as protagonists of their lives and destinies allows the emergence of projects for the future. The researcher captured from her

Revista Comunicación y Ciudadanía Digital - COMMONS 103 COMMONS development agencies. cutors of indigenous development projects between their communities and interlo- main the therefore are Indians even young or These society.international national local, and them between mediators the are and – sibs’ chiefs or phratries clans, caciques, like leaders ancestral – leaderships nal traditio- than younger usually are leaderships New on. so and leaders tion associa reverends, workers, health teachers, captains, as such principles, to occupy functions and positions that do not follow cosmologic indigenous Luciano by (2006a) to identify non-traditional Indian political leaderships used that emerge is indígenas) lideranças (novas leaderships Indian new term The fight. political their for be to need constantlywherethey centers, ICT.havetourban toworld access the indigenous in the happens in It ones first the are leaderships indigenous New Indians. the by tool political a as seen mainly is internet the that notice we research, field our from and zil Bra- in divide digital indigenous the on literature the of review the From 6. Internetasapoliticaltool a globalized world. with and reality local the with time same the at dialogs and causes genous a persuasive tonetries to that attractand engage theaudienceto theindi- of a whole. The voice is plural, it is the voice of the people they represent, in even if the authors show themselves individually, they are presented as part areart and cation recurrenttopics of thetime, onindigenousMost blogs. edu- health, environment,rights, indigenous itself, inclusion digital ficities, their rights and diffuse and exchange indigenous knowledge. Cultural speci- claim to space a of conquest the as ICT,to internet, access the speciallythe throughout Brazilian history. She finds that new indigenous leaderships see privilegeda to place make thecirculationof senses forbidden orsilenced are blogs that Ferreiraunderstands Brazil. in Internet of Uses the on sium Sympo Indigenous 1st the attendedhave and researcher communications this byinterviewed havebeen authors whose and –, included School máali Pa- – Costa by analyzed also blogs Baniwa three analysesFerreira others, dian perceptions and perceptions about the Indians on the internet. Among cimar Luisa Ferreira in her current PhD research about the circulation of In- Indigenous blogs is one of the subjectsstudied by linguisticresearcher Lu- pecially before theIndiansthemselves” (p.101). es and individuals, other before existence indigenous the “allow ICT Also, 60). (p. cyberspace” into integration and appropriation technological the fromempowermentarising intervieweesof strong indigenous sensation “a Challenges facedinovercomingindigenousdigitaldividebrazil COMMONS -Revista Comunicación yCiudadanía Digital - - - Challenges faced in overcoming indigenous digital divide in brazil 104 COMMONS

- Consultants from the non-governmental organizations and other entities that work with the Indians teach them how to use typing machines to wri te reports about projects carried out on indigenous communities. With the thepopularization internet, the of computer computers, becomes they are the encouraged main tool to to access migrate invitations to the new for device, available on the offices of these organizations. With the arrival of other fund providers and to submit proposals. Before the internet, propo- proposals from Brazilian government programs, development agencies and

sals and other documents had to be delivered by postal service and it would- lablesometimes on the take internet, over forsix monthsonline proposals. to receive an answer from fund providers. By the end of the 2000’s, many invitations for proposals forms are only avai -

Slowly but surely, indigenous organizations begin to buy their own compu ters. Thus, when equipment and internet connection from Gesac arrive on indigenous lands, some communities already own a computer for the use- putersof the newon indigenous leaderships, lands which as waslaptops the becomecase of Pamáali,more and for more example. affordable. More indigenous organizations and new leaderships begin to have personal com-

On the other hand, this equipment and all the possibilities they provide re main alien to most of the Indians living in their own lands, especially those who don’t speak Portuguese and whose contact with the outside word is very restricted or inexistent. As already observed by researchers interested in the use of ICT by social movements (see Saéz, 2010), those who use the internet the most, not only for political activities, are those who are already committed to organizations and offline political activity. -

With Gesac connection available on indigenous territories or on military ba ses on the Amazon forest, the use of ICT tools becomes very regular amongst- new indigenous leaderships. They use online communications tools such as e-mail, MSN, , Talk and now to speed up commu nications between leaders situated on different communities and among themselves and those in the cities. Institutional websites are amongst the most consulted, in order to stay up to date with invitations for proposals and to submit projects so as to obtain financial resources and other sorts of support from the outside world. These projects are also formulated with- the help of online resources. Last, but not least, the internet arrives as a new space where they can draw attention to their causes, be they social or envi ronmental, through the use of social networks such as blogs, Facebook and Twitter. Social networks reach both the general public and fund providers (existing and potential ones), what Baniwa new leaderships consider very

Revista Comunicación y Ciudadanía Digital - COMMONS 105 COMMONS mote cultural revival. In days when many indigenous traditions have been havetraditions indigenous many when days revival.In cultural mote pro to ICT of use the stimulating are that schools the also is it times Many that would prevent kids from moving out drew the attention of some elders. ters and theinternet into indigenous schools totools beusedaseducational compu- of integration The lands. indigenous to returndon’t and education formal seeking cities the tomove that ones young the of exodus the rience expe communities indigenous century, 20th the of half second the Since ones. been using to convince traditional leaderships areand cultural educational have leaderships new arguments main The aside. left simply is equipment ICT,of importance the of elders the convincing in succeed don’tthey if and elders, the of sayings the on act to have leaderships Generally,group.new technology, and power allowed to new leaderships is variable from group to new to resistant very be can leaderships Traditionalliterature.relevant of is not the case of all Brazilian indigenous groups, as presented on the Review Baniwa Indians is an ethnicity with a rather successful story with ICT, which in thisoperation. centralrolewords,a other has individuals.internetrightfulin The citizens, Brazilian be to themselvesdeclare they time, same the At pressures. gious once left aside as asurvival strategy againsteconomic political,andreli- indigenous lian peopleshave beenreassuming identities and mores they Brazi- many decades, three or two past the For populations. international beforeimage external(re)buildindigenous and and the national mediation without themselves represent time, first the for can, they fight since to prejudice way a as internet the see leaderships indigenous new of number lues, the collective interest is more important than the individual. A relevant and other ICT resources for personal purposes. According to indigenous va- tion andelectricityrestrictions, there is very timetolittle usetheinternet connec- Gesac of reliability poor the resources, ICT of scarcity the to Due sible for Pamáali’s Gesacaccesspointin2011: promising, as reported by Raimundo Benjamin, the Baniwa teacher respon nication, May 24,2011) commu personal having Benjamin, (Raimundonews.” or updated pictureconstantly a having like not It’s it? isn’t different, it’s not… it’s but reports, the readThey are. students the who on, reallygoing curious, wanting to know what was going on at the school. What was Before the blog, the partners, the fund providers from abroad, they were Challenges facedinovercomingindigenousdigitaldividebrazil COMMONS -Revista Comunicación yCiudadanía Digital -

- - - Challenges faced in overcoming indigenous digital divide in brazil 106 COMMONS

lost and young Indians are more and more interested in the white men’s way of life, the young ones are being impelled to research among the elders the myths and knowledge of their peoples. This is a way to involve different- generations in a common project. What the young ones find is registered in drawings, pictures, videos, recorded interviews, books. In 2005, for exam ple, Pamáali students, under a project called Mitoteca, registered 58 Baniwa myths both in Portuguese and in the Baniwa language. A CD and a booklet 7.were Internet published access’ from passivethese registers. dimensions

- Despite indigenous experiences with ICT described on the previous sections, in Brazil indigenous lands inhabitants find themselves in a situa tion of almost complete communicational and informational isolation. To provide access to the first two levels of digital inclusion established by Sorj – transmission infrastructure and equipment/connection – in such isolated- communities is a huge challenge. These first two levels are internet access’ passive dimensions – usually the focus of Brazilian digital inclusion pro grams, but “only part of the preconditions to make internet a public service” (Sorj, 2003, p. 63). - - To address the complexity of providing transmission infrastructure, equip ment and connection to indigenous populations, we take the Brazilian Ama- zon as a case in point, where 53% of all Brazilian Indians live, according to 2010 Census, and where over 98% of Brazil’s indigenous lands are concen trated, according to 2012 data from ISA. Due do the dense vegetation and butthe abundancealso to data of transportation, watercourses, given there that are transmissionvery few paved cables roads are crossing usually the forest. The lack of roads is a big obstacle not only to vehicular traffic,-

buried along the highways. The same applies to electric cables. The profu sion of watercourses and the lack of paved roads make it almost impossible to lay cables in the region. As a result, until 2010, the capital of Amazonas state – the biggest Brazilian state, with thrice the area of Spain –, located in the heart of the Amazon, was connected to the internet only via satellite and radio. Brazilian national backbone went as far as Porto Velho, the capital of Acre, more than 650 km away. Only in 2011 Manaus was connected to the internet via cable by two backbones; an cable with 2.5 Gb capacity and an cable with 10Gb. connected to the internet, the situation on the countryside can only be If even the biggest urban center of Amazonas state is so precariously

worse, especially on isolated areas. Many indigenous communities are not

Revista Comunicación y Ciudadanía Digital - COMMONS 107 COMMONS special cable that is actually made up of three cables; if one fails, there are there fails, one if cables; three of up made actually is that cable special TotoManaus. city,backbonetothe finallytheir connect tomaketheyhad a get to River Negro cross to years several for tried had Embratel that bers river.don’tthere”.workAmazon things world, another is rememIt - He (…) quite is it solution, a as this about RNP) - Pesquisa e Ensino de Nacional (Rede Network Research and Learning nal Natio- riverine. is Amazon of interior the in living population the of Most even worse. is network 3G and poor very is reception mobile competition, no usually is wherethere centers, urban availableonlyat is service phone Mobile come. in- families’ indigenous of share sizable a up takes it but landlines, haveto start centers urban intoevolved and development significant experienced re - field our that villages indigenous on in living families of out number limited very A foundsearch. we as tool, non-reliable and limited a and remain electricity solar and satellite via work villages indigenous in located phones pay public few The principles. market to subjected hands, sector‘s privatethe in left is infrastructure telecommunication of expansion the ce, consequen a As competition. foster and market the regulate to chanisms me- effective impose to failed and companies telecommunications its zed privati government Brazilian 1998, In service. postal the by served even sonal communication, April 4, 2013) admits that “until now nobody thought hip between public and private sectors and huge investments. Simões (per- partners- a requirewould that project long-term However,a be would this only withbroadband butalsowithTVandtelephone. internet, not populations riverine provide would This 4G. supports that terminals fordata wirelessand forhigh-speed phones of data mobile communication would be distributed via Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology, a standard connection points, anchorage cable On connection. internet with forest of Pará state – to the Brazilian border with Peru, covering more than 3,000 km of capital – Belém from go would that cable underwater an implementing of possibility rivercarries”.the studyingthis debris is the RNP all and ches bran- currents, strong sediment, riverbedstrength, River,its Amazon with the on specially infrastructure, underwater realizes an build to 2013) difficult very is 4, “it April communication, (personal Simões Nevertheless, Yourailways”.railways,roads.through no no go arearedon’thavethere to the there roads, be the through go wouldto have“You don’t access: deficient this to answer and region the in build infrastructure to waytelecommunications natural the be would rivers that 2013) 4, April munication, 2 director, Nelson Simões, explained in an interview (personal com- (personal interview an in explained director,Simões, Nelson

audacious to put a cable like this in the in this like cable a put to Challenges facedinovercomingindigenousdigitaldividebrazil COMMONS -Revista Comunicación yCiudadanía Digital - -

and research universities centers. to connection provides and Brazil in access internet provide to network wasRNP first2. the Brazilian Challenges faced in overcoming indigenous digital divide in brazil 108 COMMONS

- two others, two redundancies to try and maintain the connection stable in- the city. And even with the redundancies, in 2011 Manaus lost its connec tions for four hours; cellphones wouldn’t work, neither would credit or de bit card payments, banks went offline. -

The lack of telecommunications infrastructure on the Amazon and indige- nous territories in general is not an isolated issue, quite the contrary. It is difficult to build physical transmission infrastructure because telecommu nications infrastructure needs to rely on preexisting infrastructures, such as utility poles and roads, usually inexistent on indigenous lands. For this reason, for instance, the state of Amazonas is not included in the Brazilian- launched in 2010. Satellite connection is costly: deployment and use are expensive, lifespan is short and bandwidth is li mited and non‑expandable. As of 2013, 12,000 Gesac access points cost Brazilian State R$3.3 (about US$1.65) millions/month, or R$39.6 (about US$19.8) millions/year. Gesac satellites currently operate at full capacity and, in order to activate a new access point, another has to be deactivated. Most access points have nominal download and upload speeds of 512 Kbps and 128 Kbps, respectively, but the guaranteed download speed is only 6.7% of nominal speed, 34 Kbps. In 2006, an access point located in cities cablelike Rio internet de Janeiro access and to Belo the sameHorizonte location. would cost R$1,200 (about US$600) per month, while it would cost R$70 (around US$35) per month to provide -

ButMost not indigenous all access villagespoints receive are not a connectedsolar panel to or the have power a gasoline grid, sogenerator, the an tenna and all hardware run on solar energy and/or on gasoline generator. it. Both solar energy and satellite connections depend on climatic condi- so sometimes equipment is available but there is no electricity to power

tions, when it is raining or cloudy and, in some cases, at night, connection downgrades or even goes offline. The batteries used to store solar energy go lazy, and neither its replacement nor replacement or repair of any other equipment is provided for under digital inclusion programs. This consists a serious issue to indigenous communities because “due to their isolation and poor transportation conditions” much of the equipment arrives at their destination already damaged. Oftentimes equipment delivery is piecemeal.- First they receive the monitors, for example, and then months later, when the CPUs arrive, the monitors are no longer fit for use because of poor stora- ge conditions. To arrive in many indigenous communities you have to travel for a few days on a tiny metal boat (voadeira) – to arrive at Yanomami villa ge Auaris, for example, it takes 45 days by boat –, in many cases you have to

Revista Comunicación y Ciudadanía Digital - COMMONS 109 COMMONS to provide theservice is alsoresponsible for thetechnicalassistance oflocal bid Communication of Ministry the wins that company telecommunication The problems. technical to susceptible is which connection, internet the of Additionally,operationcontinuous the of sustainability of thereissue the is on theintellectual abilityandsocialintegration ofaccesspointsoperators. the passive dimension established by Sorj because itis highly dependable beyond goes but connection) and equipment (transmission, infrastructure discussion and improvement.is akey It factor to theavailabilityof physical fertilea internetstill public is of points groundaccess management The for with most governmental actions or policies – is still a big challenge in Brazil. effective implementation and continuation of digital The inclusion actions. programs inclusion – digital as adjacent and Gesac by faced issues main the among frameworkregulatoryare clear a of implementation the and points access the for policy sustainability long-term a of lack the said, being That process leadto scrapping orobsolescenceofthephysical infrastructure. regulatory poor the and This space. the manage to skills technological and is Ittnotraremanagement. telecenters that operators business lack savvy proper lacks usually it point, access the receive do they When committee. the accessreluctantpoint andthepopulation to bepartof the management receiveto unwillinggovernments local some make – run long the on point access the of sustainability the words, other in – ink printer and paper as such supplies purchasing and updates, and maintenance equipment ring ensu- service, free provide to resources financial securing about Concerns providing for free responsible service to theaccess the communityandmanagingpoint’sresources. committee, management the of part be would staff The electricity. with location secure and accessible an as such point, governmentlocal shouldprovide staffandbasicinfrastructure to theaccess operational; be to point access the for necessary equipment basic and tion though, Federalreasons. established, financial to governmentdue connec- often provides Gesac rarely is committee The sustainability. and tenance whocommunity wouldresponsiblethe be of members forprising main- its It isrecommended that access points have committee,a management com there are lots of stories of computers in the bottom of the river, for example. chnical knowledge of the beneficiaries. In Alto Rio Negro Indigenous Lands, damaged during installation or when used for the first time due are to others lack of solution, te transport a for waiting years) for (sometimes city the in long too for stored poorly were they because some villages, indigenous cross a waterfall on the way. Some equipment is damaged during the trip to Challenges facedinovercomingindigenousdigitaldividebrazil COMMONS -Revista Comunicación yCiudadanía Digital - - Challenges faced in overcoming indigenous digital divide in brazil 110 COMMONS

connections, at its own expense. Nevertheless, there is much delay on the- provision of support for isolated access points because it is too expensive to trip,send providingsupport personnel boat and toother these resources locations. in Pamáali order to School have accesshim come point to ma try nagers state that in 2010 they had to pay for half the costs of the technician’s on for several months. Indigenous access points are subjected to constant and fix a problem with the access point connection that had been going

connection problems due not only to the specificities of the satellite service- tricityalready constraints. explained, but because the modem should be on continuously to receive updates, which is unfeasible in indigenous lands, with all the elec

This difficulty to have technical support is only one of the consequences of structural problems Brazilian indigenous peoples are subjected to since- colonial times. Just as the digital divide is one more gap that adds to pre- existing divides, as aforementioned: education, cultural, scientific, cogni tive. We can see that the geographic isolation of indigenous communities turns out to reinforce other kinds of isolation, not only technological. If we take a deep look into indigenous life conditions and compare them with the- surrounding societies, it is very clear that they are below average. Indians present lower health and educational indicators and more nutritional defi ciencies and are still fighting for existence before Brazilian government, for more than 30% of Indian population has no civil registration. Furthermore, indigenous geographic and political isolation is also reflected on the paucity of statistic and qualitative data about their life conditions. -

Indigenous groups lost much of their traditional territory during the ex pansion of western civilizations throughout Brazilian territory. Landless or- restricted to small pieces of lands, they became marginalized, second-class citizens. They lost the access they once had to natural resources that sus tained their way of life and gained little access to western commodities and public policies. In 1988, a new constitution acknowledges indigenous rights to lands traditionally occupied, which made the fight for these territories and its wealth the center of the Indian question at the beginning of the 21th oncentury. them Definingis a long andwhich complicated portions of process, territory marked is traditionally by uncertainties. linked to Gover each- group, the extension of such lands and relocating national population living

ones,nment such officials as the argue deployment that only ofonce roads, this the territorial construction issue isof solved, schools, they health can extend public policies to these populations. This includes the most basic

Revista Comunicación y Ciudadanía Digital - COMMONS 111 COMMONS Indian communities that rapidly (in a matter of hours or days) went back went days) or hours of matter a (in rapidly that communities Indian about narratives gathered Renesse and Costa technologies. such using in difficulties in transportation, these might easily break due to lack of training ceed in receiving infrastructure, equipment and internet access, despite the theysuc- once Then, connections. and requiresskills intellectualand social organize themselves and try and submit a torequest to need the government, they which policies, inclusion digital to access haveTo companies. tions considerationtakenintobytelecommunica - not population marginalized a ICT infrastructure and equipment or not. In tothe case of the Indians, access they arehave will it whether to factor determining a is – Sorj by defined To begin with, a group’s social integration – the fourth digital inclusion level first one’sexistence. the to precondition a be also can dimension second this that learn we tion, sec last the However,from usefulness. one’s first the determine also will dimension second The satisfied. is one first the once achieved be only can inclusion digital of dimension second this Sorj, to According use. personal and individual for contents and services software,hardware,evaluate and comprehend analyze, select, to capacity user the on depends technologies requireuser.pro-activityve, but the these from of usefulness potential The interactionly - not are contemporaryICT because elements important very tent – define the potential for active appropriation of the internet. con These are specific of use and production and integration, social and ability tual The last three digital inclusion levels established by Sorj – training, intellec- 8. Indigenous’potentialforactiveappropriationoftheinternet group willremain unattended. Xavante the and location non-indigenous a in elsewhere, installed be will point access the Thus, hall. city the by built alreadybeen had antenna pam Si- the to base a where installed, be should point access the where school justice commends the demolition of all existing infrastructure, including the Brazilian repossession, the with Toproceed all. not was that But pulation. po- non-indigenous local all of expelling the and Indians Xavante by sion reposses its determined government Brazilian 2012, of end the By there. town small a built who farmers by occupied long was Land Indigenous dé MarãiwawatséState. Grosso Mato - in school Xavanteindigenous a at talled ins be to was that point access Sipam a of case interestingvery a is There capacitation oflocalpopulations,etc. centers and the allocation of professionals to work on these locations or the Challenges facedinovercomingindigenousdigitaldividebrazil COMMONS -Revista Comunicación yCiudadanía Digital - - - - Challenges faced in overcoming indigenous digital divide in brazil 112 COMMONS

-

to ground zero after benefiting from digital inclusion programs due to equi pment misuse. Due to the lack of financial resources to repair or replace- hardware, broken equipment is discarded or simply left aside. Reportedly desktop computers have been thrown away the day after they were insta lled because they no longer worked. - According to government policies, internet access points provided by digital arrangedinclusion byprograms the management should not committee. become a freeCommittee cybercafé. members They are should suppo be sed to be knowledge dissemination centers, offering courses that are to be

limitedtrained period,in operating such asand a year,managing but then access it is uppoints to the and committee using ICT to and ensure convey its continuity.this knowledge. Distance Some Education federal government tools are also programs used, but provide the connection training is for a li a-

engagemiting factor in campaigns in some andlocations. prepare Public other managers project proposals consulted to for address this research issues suggest that communities benefiting from digital inclusion programs should- lity of access points, including daily-use material and staff compensation. such as replacement of broken or outdated hardware, financial sustainabi

We understand that training needs to go beyond teaching the Indians how to use ICT. In order to sustain the operation of the access points on the long run, internet access points operator also need to learn how to properly use,- cial,maintain technological and fix the or equipment, human. as well as raise funds – through projects or other sources – and properly manage the points’ resources, be they finan -

Ministry of Culture’s program Ponto de Cultura Indígena (Indigenous Cultu initiatives.re Point) offers Gesac digital connects cameras, some audio of these recorders, points to video the internet.cameras, Indians computers are and other ICT tools to foment and promote organized indigenous cultural

trained in the use of these technologies, but only up to a basic level. For- example, about the digital video editing workshops, Ministry of Culture- ceptshighlights related that to the video workshops editing process, are not suchenough as rhythm for one andto master continuity. video edi ting software, but are a space for discussing and understanding broad con -

Training in the use of the technology is the third digital inclusion level de- cularfined bydepends Sorj. It on can the be user’s formal, intellectual through courses ability orand workshops, is made easier or informal, by the appropriatethrough self ‑sociallearning interactions. and knowledge But even exchange. the fruits Informal of formal training training in parti are

Revista Comunicación y Ciudadanía Digital - COMMONS 113 COMMONS Portuguese – especially women, children, the elders and traditionalPortugueseespeciallyleader- and – women,elders children, the speak not do lands own their in knowledge living peoples indigenous indigenous Manyof societies. building the for issue key a are and ICT of tion and intellectualdivides, haveon thepotential animpact active appropria- cognitive the accentuate also They infrastructure. technical of deployment affectdo not populations only thepassiveinclusion, the dimensionofdigital That being said, we notice that the structural problems faced by indigenous tory to third grade are olderthen11years old. prepara attending students the half distortion: age/grade remarkable a is thereFurthermore, school. few,secondary a 2.6%, just and school primary others not even Most of the indigenous students, 81.2%, are that. attending higher education, most of them, 64.8%, only attended secondary school and of electric energy. Only 13.2% of the teachers working in these schools have source any havedon’t 50.8%, half, than more and grid power national the to connected are 31.9% Only locations. makeshift in operates and own its of building a have doesn’t 34.2%, establishments, these of part important An students. 163,693 by attended Brazil, in schools indigenous 2,323 fied identi- 2005 of census scholar The operate. they which the in precariousness and schools indigenous of number low the is rate this to explanation possible One population. the of 32.3% reachesrate this lands, own their in her, 23.3%, in Portuguese or in indigenous languages. Among Indians living evenhig- is it peoples, indigenous Among Census. 2010 to according 9.6%, countries, developed to compared when high already is more or 15 aged Brazil.in Illiteracysituation indigenous the rateBrazilian the population in reover, e-literacy begins with traditional literacy itself, an important issue of tual world and is intimately linked to the intellectual and cognitive gaps. Mo- city for abstraction, onthecomprehension of the logics inherent to thevir forindividualpotentialactivethe capa The on depends appropriationalso skills. technical of acquisition beyondthe far goes e-literacy see, can we As interview (personal communication,January31,2013). an works”,in copy/paste reports Fonsecahow show to basket fruit a used computer.I the on works copy/paste how understanding not there stood person the copy/paste, a explain to tried village, indigenous the at arrived reality.“I their from detached too are that principles world virtual of tion demonstraconcrete- the and teacher the of presencephysical the requires certain access points. Sometimes, the life experience of the local population quality is not the only limiting factor in implementing Distance Education in connection 2013), 31, Communication, January communication, (personal of FonsecaRodrigo Ministry the for consultant a by told As level. clusion in- digital fourth Sorj’s constitute which factors, two these by conditioned Challenges facedinovercomingindigenousdigitaldividebrazil COMMONS -Revista Comunicación yCiudadanía Digital - - - Challenges faced in overcoming indigenous digital divide in brazil 114 COMMONS

ships – and those who do speak it do so as a second language, not a mother tongue. Sorj (2003) affirms that “while an important part of developing- countries’ population is drown in illiteracy and semi-illiteracy, internet access universalization, independently of infrastructural expansion, will re main a chimera” (p. 68). The language barrier is the first one to be overcome- gueseand it istranslation a double hurdle and neither for indigenous do most ofpeoples: the services first, Portuguese, available online. and then, Not toEnglish, mention because that most many online technical content words is in and English. expressions don’t have a Portu

- dress the language as a big issue to be solved in order to promote and facili- Many scholars studying indigenous digital inclusion in ad that most of the content is in English and many demands for the creation of tate the use of the internet by the Indians. There’s much criticism to the fact- - content in indigenous languages. However, that will never come to pass un- turaless theIndígena Indians program, mobilize but themselves the choice to of produce the language and translate is up to content.the Indians. Con tent production is something that has been promoted by the Pontos de Cul

Indigenous peoples have been producing all sorts of content, from texts to photos and videos – content created by the Indians for the Indians both in- Portuguese and indigenous languages, as verified by Pinto, Costa, Renesse, Bucchioni and Pereira. Nevertheless, uploading the content is a problem be fromcause indigenous of the quality lands: of Gesac connection. Daniel Benjamin, a Baniwa teacher, explains how difficult it is to update his blog baniwaonline.wordpress.com

It takes too long when it is a document too heavy, image… Video is- impossible, impossible. It is not possible. Just low resolution image you can upload, one or two in the whole body. A good image is diffi cult, takes too long. (Daniel Benjamin, personal communication, May 1th, 2011)

João Ramirez, internet specialist and advisor for ISA and Foirn, realized that the content produced by the Pontos de Cultura wasn’t going online. During the workshop about social media in São Gabriel da Cachoeira-AM in March 2011, he proposed that the Indians try and send CD-ROMs and DVDs with the material they produce to Foirn and ISA offices in the city and that the institutions send the disks to São Paulo so that he could upload the material from there. In his conception, that would be a way to promote Rio Negro peoples and their political fight.

Revista Comunicación y Ciudadanía Digital - COMMONS 115 COMMONS genous peoples livegenous peoples closetorural the urbanbut and populations, national indi hand, other the on state, Sul do Grande Rio policy”.broadbandIn the programs inclusion like Gesac] because [digital other things programsare already for happening, including need a longer no is there which in setting a “it’s 2013), 25, January communication, (personal advisorSipam’s Costa, da Pereirathere”, availableDanielle says internet wireless is there tablets, the region’s economic and infrastructural development. “They already have from benefit and fields soya to close liveGrosso Mato of state the of north three different digital inclusion programs. Amazonian populations from the least at by benefited already were Network this of members visibility,the ving in isolated regions, thanks to its organization, political articulation and 1980’s, the Peoples of the Forest Network (Rede Povos da Floresta). Even li- since themovementnationwide leadby famous Chico rubbertapper Mendesinthe known group a form – tappers rubber and maroons peoples, riverine peoples, indigenous – populations grassroots Acre, of state the In ted” to nationalsociety: dians who survived the colonization processes and are considered “integra- In- the describes Ribeiro how is This Ribeiro. Darcy indigenist Brazilian of We can find a generalization of indigenous situation in Brazil in the writings insert themselves indifferent ways inasocietythatintends to benational. people indigenous each Therefore, state. national Brazilian of constitution each people had a distinct relationship population, with Portuguese colonialism homogeneous and the a as groups indigenous Brazilian of think to cy infrastructurepolicies andpublicis not thesame. Despite ageneraltenden to access and population national with group’scontact proximitynous and indige- each as just group; indigenous each among variableliteracylevel is The number of people who speak Portuguese, their abstraction capacity and tion. (Ribeiro, 1993,pp.433-4) defined, seen and discriminated as “Indians” by surrounding popula if they didn’t keep a sort of loyalty to this ethnic identity and weren’t people, distinct a constitute they that themselves sureweren’t they if neighbors, neobrazilians their with mistaken be could food, same Equallythe language. eating nal clothes, wearingsame mestizos, the der from oneplaceto another. Someofthesegroups losttheirorigi wan lands, their of deprived or territories, ancient their of parcels into confined livethey general In commerce. the for articles certain are incorporated as manpower reserves, or specialized producers of they life economic whose to population, national around Stranded Challenges facedinovercomingindigenousdigitaldividebrazil COMMONS -Revista Comunicación yCiudadanía Digital - - - - - Challenges faced in overcoming indigenous digital divide in brazil 116 COMMONS

public policies. are still marginalized, face significant prejudice and have limited access to

These are examples of the external dimension of social integration. There is still the internal dimension, already addressed by Renesse (2011) and also observed by us in our field research. Digital inclusion programs need to be traditionalaligned with leaderships’ the communities’ rulings. objectives So, even ifand a communityrules, dictated receives by traditional a Gesac leaderships. New leaderships do not have the autonomy to act outside of-

antenna and equipment, if the elders say they are not to be used, they re- main untouched and waste away. The introduction of internet and other ICT generates divergent or even conflicting positions inside indigenous commu nities. Many elders think the young will privilege online life over traditional community activities, which is seen as a threat to social order. On the other- hand,mation young and communication generations tend plan to questionfor the people. traditional leadership legitimacy if they outright reject new technologies and do not consider having an infor 9. Conclusion

Digital inclusion provided by Gesac to indigenous lands’ population varies from region to region, from people to people, and even inside each com- munity, from individual to individual, making it impossible to make a uni-

que portrait of indigenous digital inclusion in Brazil. Interethnic contact accordinghappens in to different the individual’s contexts socialand ICT role. are In appropriated general, those in distinctmore interested ways by ineach the community internet are and those by each politically individual active, inside usually a specific members community, of indigenous usually -

organizations that fight for indigenous rights, that got to know ICT as im- plementationportant tools for and their monitoring activism. of For ethnodevelopment them, ICT have the projects. potential Digital to speed-up space is communications among them and their partners, which simplifies the im

also a visibility tool, a place where Indians can speak for themselves without the interference of external mediators such as missionaries, journalists and NGOs and have their voice amplified through the use of social networks, for example. The young ones are more likely to be attracted to ICT, whereas the- elders can be very suspicious of technology. New indigenous leaderships need to know how to convince traditional leaderships of the ICT’s impor tance for the community in order to have its use authorized.

Revista Comunicación y Ciudadanía Digital - COMMONS 117 COMMONS mic and democratic development, notably, as pointed out by Andres et al et Andres by out pointed notably,as development, democratic and mic econo- social, foment will alone technology that think to dynamics social of vision oversimplified an is ICT.It of appropriation active the to barrier of basicservices on indigenouslands,suchaselectricity, areimportant an of times, suchaslackeducation,access nial to information andeven thelack colo- since subjected are peoples indigenous which to problems Structural connection available onGesacaccesspoints. and equipment of study qualitative a requires dimension passive divide’s digital of aspects these of study The calls. video and voice and videos tos, the connectionspeedresourceslimits theuseofmultimedia suchaspho and unreliablepoorly, worksand intermittentconnection satelliteis Gesac interviews and field research conducted at Pamáali School, we observe that Fromour of. use make to able be will one resourcesthat offline and online and software, and different internet connection speeds will determine ICT’s cal evolution. Access to outdated or up to date technology, both in hardware compasses several other divides that emerge continuously with technologi en- passive, calls (2003) Sorj that divide, digital of dimension physical this break on the very first uses due to lack of training of the beneficiaries. Also, because they canarrive onthecommunitiesalready damaged,or they can the guarantee ment by itself not does not assure that they will be available to does local population, equip- ICT of divide provision The world. digital digital the to integration beneficiarie’s of dimension first this Bridging are alsoabarrierto proper technical support. of capacitated personneltotransportand Isolation them. handle conditions lack and conditions storage equipment inadequate of issues also are there hardware todamages even before theirarrivalon indigenous communities. Oncethere, lead might conditions transportation Poor hardware. other themselvesand computers of speak to not antennas, as such equipment of transportthe requires and it electricity Still, satellite connection. of use the possible tomade it ac contour thisoverallof infrastructurelack through power grids or pipelines, usually unavailablerails, on indigenous or territories. Ges roads as such infrastructure, existing previously on relies that re courses. Communication infrastructure isusuallysecondary astructu water of abundance enormous the and on, laid usually are cables where transmission is cables very complicated due to theabsenceof paved roads, of placement the forest, Amazon the on Especially infrastructure. mission elementary dimensiondivide:of digital the deployment of physical trans - tructure onindigenousmakelands tochallenge big ita bridgethemost infras- of lack the and communities indigenous of isolation geographic The Challenges facedinovercomingindigenousdigitaldividebrazil COMMONS -Revista Comunicación yCiudadanía Digital - - - - - Challenges faced in overcoming indigenous digital divide in brazil 118 COMMONS

- (2007), “in populations that are too submerged in extreme poverty, without- basiclogy deployment food, electricity, is assured water, by shelter, a public literacy program and suchmany as other Gesac, basic structural infras tructures to think about the deployment of internet” (p. 4). Even if techno-

problems may not allow them to reap the possible benefits of the technolo thatgy. For contemplates a deeper look four into kinds this of matter, access: we access recommend to motivation a future to analysis use digital on indigenous digital divide based on van Dijk (2005) partial exclusions view, and diversity of applications, usage time). technology, material access, digital skill access and usage access (number

elementary dimension of digital inclusion: physical transmission infrastruc- In general, we can say that in Brazil there are still many barriers to the most - ture and availability of equipment/connection. When this first dimension is assured, the limits at the following levels starkly appear. However, in op- position to Sorj, we don’t see a linear progression between each level. On- the contrary, more than a simple linear progression, we identify an inter dependent relationship between the five levels of digital inclusion systema- tized by the Brazilian sociologist, not a direct and inevitable condition of existence and determination of utility. Moreover, we see an almost tauto logical relationship between digital inclusion levels in programs aimed at disadvantaged sectors of society, lowly educated and highly illiterate, as it is the case of the Indians. Many Indians do not know how to use computing equipment because there is none available while many others damage and break hardware and loose connections due to misuse, because they do not know how to handle the equipment. - Digital inclusion may begin with access to infrastructure, hardware and digitalconnection, inclusion but does scholars not needthrough to follow the years from than level’s to theone use to five. of technologies We see the se levels much more related to the perceptions and conceptualizations of

by individuals in the present. In indigenous communities, many people own- a computer (second level) even if there’s no internet network (first level). Many young people have cell phones (second level), even if there is no mo bile service (first level), and use them to take photos, videos and save and orexchange their limitations digital contents doesn’t such mean as that music indigenous (fifth level) lands although population they doesn’t never top-up their prepaid phones. The lack of internet access and mobile service

Sorjhave is access embraced to new and media developed in its continuouslybroader sense. and However, in an integrated we consider manner. that full digital inclusion is only reached when each of the levels identified by

Revista Comunicación y Ciudadanía Digital - COMMONS 119 COMMONS nor for continuous training to the users and management committee. This committee. management and users the to training continuous for nor equipment outdated or damaged of replacement or repair and updates for provide not do they that out found we interviews, our From plementation. im- their after points access internet of through follow systematic a do to them allows that system logistic a developed not haveprograms inclusion digital Brazilian inclusion), digital passiveof the dimension levels– second While mainly focused in providing internet access and equipment (first and tructure, which we well understand to bestillabigissueinBrazil. inclusion actionsaredigital on thedeployment still of transmission infras of efforts the of most Hence, Brazil. as country large a such in nationwide yond theoffer ofinternet connectionisvery problematicto beimplemented logistics involvingthe provision services goesbe inclusion that ofdigital arrangements. However, financial and human resources are limited and the socioculturalmorecomplex with onlyeffectivepossible is inclusion, digital thus and –, 8) (p. logic)” organization and operation imaginaries, visions, (cosmo had and known already is what from technology) (the possessed Marí (2010) – “the ability to claim for one’s self and incorporate what is not by defined terms the in effectiveinternet of that appropriation understand to seem managers telecenters’ Sipam and Indígena Cultura de Pontos ac, Ges population. beneficiary the among citizenship and participation cial simple disposal of internet connection and computing equipment will promote so the that vision a still is there practice, in societies, knowledge the on and society information the on discussions the with aligned discourse official an despite that, hypothesis our confirm we said, being that all With the digitaldivide condensethedynamic nature ofthisphenomenon: state- of theory potential the a on argument core author’s the summarize section, that ments framework Theoretical the on presented already and Going further on the definition of digital divide proposed by van Dijk (2005) .Ueul atcpto i scey enocs categorical reinforces Dijk, (van society resources. of distribution in 2005, p.14) unequal and unequal participation inequalities about brings 5. Unequal technologies the digital on participation insociety. to depends access also 4. Unequal technologies digital unequal characteristics ofthesetechnologies. to to access an access 3. Unequal unequal causes produce resources digital technologies. of distribution society unequal 2. An in distribution ofresources. inequalities 1. Categorical Challenges facedinovercomingindigenousdigitaldividebrazil COMMONS -Revista Comunicación yCiudadanía Digital - - - - -

Challenges faced in overcoming indigenous digital divide in brazil 120 COMMONS

themselves to ensure the access points’ continued operation in the long run, theis left projects in the markethands of being the beneficiary a feasible solution communities, to this whichmatter. need to organize

Nevertheless, the problem of implementation and continuation of digital inclusion programs on indigenous lands goes beyond technological infras- tructure and economical and institutional obstacles to internet access. In

Brazil, there isn’t a federal Indian policy that addresses the different aspects- of life of indigenous peoples. What you have are one-off, isolated actions to mitigate the impact of crises, there are no sequential actions contempla sameted in timemedium being and aggravated long-term by plans. it. Municipalities, The general lackstates of and infrastructure the union have and access to public policies emphasize the geographic isolation while at the- - a tremendous difficulty in aligning themselves to meet the needs of indige nous peoples, who have an enormous cultural diversity and relate in dis tinct ways with the national society.

Revista Comunicación y Ciudadanía Digital - COMMONS COMMONS - Revista de Comunicación Social y Ciudadanía Digital

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Biografías

Dña. Isis Valle Rodrigues da Costa Don Fernando Oliveira Paulino

Licenciada en Periodismo por la Profesor de la Facultad de Comunicación Universidad de Brasilia (UnB) - Brasil. doctoradode la Universidad en Comunicación de Brasilia en UnB. (UnB) Informática y Multimedia, y una -Brasil, Licenciatura, maestría y Tiene una licenciatura en Comunicación, Investigador en el Laboratorio

Maestría en Industrias Creativas: Web, Medios y Artes en la Universidad Paris de Comunicación Políticas de Comunitaria Comunicación y isisvrc@.com8 - Francia. (LaPCom-UNB) y del Proyecto

LatinoamericanaCiudadanía (CNPq). de Investigadores Miembro delde Comunicación).Consejo de ALAIC (Asociación Brasil.Dirección postal: AOS - 04 - Bl B - Apto 512 CEP: 70660-042 Brasília - DF - [email protected]

Bachelor in Journalism by Universidade de Brasília - Brazil. Dirección postal: Faculdade de Degree in Communication, Computers Comunicação – Campus Universitário and Multimedia. Darcy Ribeiro – Instituto Central de Ciências Norte CEP: 70 910-900 Brasília Masters in Creative Industries: Web, - DF - Brasil. Media and Arts at Université Paris 8 - Bachelor, master and PhD in France. Communication at Universidade de Brasília - Brazil. COMMONS - Revista de Comunicación Social y Ciudadanía Digital

Fotografías

Batteries used to store solar energy at Pamáali School Gesac Antenna and solar panels at Pamáali School

Gesac Antenna and solar panels at Pamáali School COMMONS - Revista de Comunicación Social y Ciudadanía Digital

Gesac internet access point at Pamáali School

Pamáali School

Teacher choosing a tune to be played during a soccer game at Pamáali School COMMONS - Revista de Comunicación Social y Ciudadanía Digital

Teacher using a computer at Pamáali School

Websurfer prayer on the wall of Gesac Teachers taking notes during an assembly at Pamáali School internet access point at Pamáali School