Glen Martin,
"Internet Indian Wars"

Glen Martin (b. 1949) is a staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle and has written for magazines such as Men's Journal, Discover, and Gourmet. He is the author of Through the Grapevine (Revell, 1989), an exposé of the wine industry, and a forthcoming book from National Geographic about wildlife refuges. This article appeared in 1995 in Wired, a magazine aimed at people interested in emerging electronic technologies.

"Internet Indian Wars" text


second thoughts

1. Review and weigh the arguments of Blue Snake/Don Rapp and America Online versus Tracy Miller and the other Native critics of Blue Snake Lodge. To what extent do you think that Blue Snake Lodge should be characterized as harmless role-playing, cultural rip-off, or fraud? Do you think that people who are not members of a particular cultural group can effectively identify with or represent that group to others?

2. Martin explains that Tracy Miller was banned from AOL but "still gets online by arranging payment through friends and employing a rich variety of pseudonyms" (¶ 14). Do you find Miller's tactics hypocritical, given the nature of her criticism of Blue Snake Lodge? Or do you agree with her that these "actions are ethical and necessary" (¶ 14) under the circumstances?

3. Review the ambitious goals of the Native community efforts on the Net described by Martin. Do you think the Native American Communication Council's plan to restrict access to some religious information is, as some critics would suggest, "antithetical to the free and unfettered exchange of ideas and data in cyberspace" (¶ 12)?

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