Advanced information, communication, computation and collaboration technologies, known as "cyberinfrastructure," have become essential elements for research, education, and innovation in the 21st century. A major challenge confronting the United States today is how to ensure that all colleges and universities, including those that have not traditionally benefited from leading-edge research infrastructure, can participate seamlessly in national and multinational cyberinfrastructure-enabled efforts. The minority-serving-institution community has unique expertise, knowledge, and resources to share. Western leaders from the fields of science, education and cyberinfrastructure recognize an urgent need for action. Participants in the 2006 "Lariat Summit on Minority Institutions and Cyberinfrastructure in the West" gathered in Bozeman, Montana to develop strategies and recommendations for connecting minority-serving institutions in the West to national advanced cyberinfrastructure. This document is a first step towards developing both the will and the resources to ensure that minority-serving institutions are among the "connected" institutions in the Western states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, and Washington. (Contains 2 figures and 11 endnotes.) [Financial support for this white paper was provided by the University of Washington, Internet2, and the Pacific Northwest Gigapop.]