By Stacy Thacker, University of Montana

Dating in Indian Country comes with its challenges. Most reservations are vast areas where people have to drive hours before they get to a town with a gas station let alone a nice, date-worthy restaurant.

Now that we're in 2012, online dating is the new regular dating, especially on reservations where people are so spread out.

It’s easier to meet and get to know somebody in a chat room or online dating site these days in some communities. You just have to hope they really look like their profile photo.

This new alternative worked for Jennifer Cordova and Shawn Smith, the couple met on the Navajo Times Facebook page when Smith was chosen as the "fan of the day." However this whirlwind romance took some time and courage on Cordova's part after she decided to “approach” him with a message.

As a woman navigating the dating world, I must admit I have found more success approaching the guy rather than waiting for him to walk up to me … excuse me, I meant to message me.

I am a big believer in romance, maybe too much sometimes but it can still be found, even if it is over the Internet. Of course in this medium you do want to be cautious. Luckily for Smith and Cordova everything went smoothly.

I, however, am still a little skeptical about online dating. For instance, I rarely use an actual image of myself on my social networking profiles. In fact I’m currently using a mug shot of a sheep on Facebook. So for me to meet somebody strictly based on their profile is probably not going to happen.

We would have to talk for weeks and meet in a very public area with a few of my friends hidden in the background for extra muscle.

I must say though that I melt for a good love story and this Navajo Times romance had it all.

I am excited that this crazy world of Facebook brought about more than video links and pictures of food. The love aspect gives this social network some actual human characteristics.

Stacy Thacker (Navajo) is from Navajo, N.M.