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The rate of connectivity in Indian Country lags behind the rest of the country. As of December 2018, only 60% percent of Tribal lands in the lower 48 states had high-speed Internet access. A new case study report from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance delves into the experiences of four Native Nations — the Coeur d’Alene, the Nez Perce, the Fond du Lac Band of Ojibwe, and the St. Regis Mohawk — as they constructed their own Internet service providers.
The case studies examine the unique challenges Native Nations confront as they seek to build Internet infrastructure and address the digital divide while also retaining the tribal sovereignty that is essential to their identity and heritage. As the report states, “Native Nations are sovereign over their data, and have the obligation to protect that information and use it for the betterment of tribal citizens.”
Each section of the report contains key takeaways that other tribes could use and learn from. The report also pulls these individual case studies together for comprehensive key lessons that Native Nations, lending institutions, and the federal government can use to improve the process for implementing tribal ISP’s, which include:
H. Trostle, author of the report, said, “Besides the vital role Internet infrastructure plays in areas like healthcare and education, we must recognize how technologies like broadband can support Tribal sovereignty by keeping control within the community. Any proposed solution for closing the digital divide on Tribal lands should focus on benefiting Native Nations through local economic development and greater self-determination. This report details what those solutions can look like.”
Download Building Indigenous Future Zones: Four Tribal Broadband Case Studies here [pdf].
Related: Check out our tribal network resource page for a comprehensive list of tribally-owned broadband projects here.