"Valerie Fast Horse, 46, is the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s director of information technology. She’s a “technological visionary,” says Chief Allan, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s chairman, “helping bridge the digital divide in Indian Country.”

Fast Horse headed up the effort to bring wireless Internet service to the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation in 2002. Now, she’s working on a $12.2 million project to provide faster Internet service through fiber optic connections. Her department is also the force behind Rezkast, a website for Native American videos and blogs.

In December, the tribe plans to launch KWIS FM 88.3, a radio station serving the reservation.

Fast Horse recently received a “Women Making History” award from Boise State University. She also serves on the Federal Communication Commission’s broadband task force for Native nations.

Q. What drew you to technology and computers?

A. I served a total of 10 years in both the Army and the Army Reserves. During the first Gulf War, I was assigned to the information management division in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Personal computers were fairly new, but we were using them in the military. It opened up my eyes to the power of communication technology. "

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