Without access to the Internet many Native Americans rely on radio for information, news

While some rural areas are waiting patiently—and sometimes impatiently—for faster Internet service or to be connected at all, Native Americans in isolated areas like the 7,000 residents of the Hopi Reservation in Arizona, rely on the local radio station to stay in tune with the rest of the world, Tristan Ahtone reports for Al Jazeera America. Only 10 percent of Indian County has access to broadband, according to some reports.

"As access to instant digital media and news spreads across the United States, tribal radio stations are a rich example of just how the digital divide continues to separate Native America from the United States and how tribes use technology often seen as outdated to bridge that gap," Ahtone writes. (To view the interactive version of this broadbandmap.gov click here)

Richard Davis, manager for KUYI 88.1 on the Hopi reservation, told Ahtone, “There aren’t the basic emergency response services. There’s no fire department on Hopi. When there’s a wildfire, we’re going to be the only people that let folks know where it’s burning. When there are icy road conditions, we’re going to be the only folks letting people know where to drive a little more safely.” Some areas are completely isolated. KBRW in Barrow, Alaska, is the only station in about 94,000 square miles, said station manager Jeff Seifert.

Of the 53 Native stations in the U.S., it’s estimated that 92 percent create local programing, 75 percent produce hyperlocal news, 70 percent air tribal programming and 57 percent broadcast in their local tribal language, Ahtone writes. Thirty-five of the stations rely on funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, but federal funding has dropped 5 percent and is expected to keep decreasing. About 20 percent of the stations work on an annual budget of about $100,000 and more than half on a budget of $200,000. (Read more)