Speaking to a crowd of about 15,000 onlookers, mostly Navajos, in Shiprock on Monday evening, President Clinton pledged to better merge American Indian communities onto the information superhighway.

"Keeping this economy growing means providing technology for those that have been left behind," Clinton said, and the crowd reacted with cheers.

"I am here because I believe in new technology that will help leapfrog Indian businesses, education and health care into the future."

Clinton made no mention of a proposed national monument that would protect lands west of Cortez.

The programs Clinton was promoting include $2 billion in tax incentives for businesses that donate computers to Native American communities, and a federal program that would provide basic telephone service to 300,000 Native American households for $1 month. That service would be financed by raising universal service assessments on interstate and international carriers by 0.4 percent.

Clinton was joined on the speaker’s platform at the Shiprock Boys and Girls Club by Navajo President Kelsey Begaye, U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., Secretary of Housing & Urban Development Andrew Cuomo and Associate Secretary of Indian Affairs Kevin Gover. The Rev. Jesse Jackson was also in attendance. Clinton opened his 15-minute speech using the Navajo language, an attempt that was greeted with laughter and applause.

Recalling a purchase he made of Navajo jewelry about 30 years ago while traveling through the Southwest, Clinton said the Internet represented new markets for Native American products .

"Just imagine the opportunity computer technology offers in selling that in national and international markets. Just imagine all health clinics on rural reservations being hooked to major medical centers through the Internet," Clinton said. "The potential is staggering and I’m here today to honor the need to improve computer technology access. It is the greatest equalizer ... ever known."

"This is not a hand-out, but a hand-up to power children so that they can fulfill their dreams."

The event was attended by Navajo tribal leaders, as well as tribal and state officials from the Four Corners states, including Ute Mountain Ute Chairman Ernest House and Ute Mountain Tribal Councilman Manuel Heart.

"This event shows the unity between Indian leaders and Washington delegates on the need to upgrade our high-tech areas," House said.

House said that the lack of services for Indian tribes overall will gain more recognition thanks to President Clinton’s visit to Shiprock. He stressed that when tribes work together, they can be an effective catalyst for positive change.

"We came to support the Navajo tribe. Any time we get this kind of representation from the president, it is important to show support," House said. "The benefits that the Navajo tribe will gain from this recognition work to cross over to other tribes as well, including the Ute Mountain Utes."

Heart said that the problems that face Myra Jodie, a 13-year-old Navajo student who won a computer on the Internet but had no electricity to hook it up to at home, are similar challenges to those facing other residents of the Four Corners.

"Computers are good to have, but without the infrastructure to access the Internet, then it becomes a problem, and that is what we and the Cortez community are both facing right now," Heart said. "In the long run, economic development depends on education, and in rural areas like the Ute reservation and Cortez, that means more reliable access to the Internet."

Tina Galyon, who works in the Ute Mountain Education Department and is a member of the Re-1 school board, said that Clinton’s visit will help highlight the need for computers in rural areas.

"I’m glad that Clinton is here discussing this, because access to computers has really only just gotten started in Towaoc," she said. "And so it’s important to get the word out of that need."

The Ute tribe does have 20 computers available for those who need them at the Ute Education Center, Galyon said, but added that having that opportunity available at home is equally important.

"Especially for kids that have been expelled or have dropped out, education opportunities online can mean the difference. We need to be able to say to that child, ‘Here is the computer and the Internet; show us what you can do,’ and hopefully from that point we can work them back into the system."

High-tech companies will join Clinton’s effort to spread the benefits of computers and the Internet, announcing pledges of money, training and equipment. The commitments will include $25 million from Qualcomm, $20 million in software from Novell and $15 million from Hewlett-Packard.

American Indians rank far below the national average in their access to telephones, computers and the Internet. In the Navajo Nation, only 22.5 percent of households have home telephone service compared with to the national average of 94 percent. The Navajo high school dropout rate averages 20 percent for 9th graders, and only one-quarter of adult Navajos have graduated from high school.