Native America Calling

Today, October 23 – Historic broadband investment: where is the money going?  

Akiak, Alaska was the first community in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta to bring high-speed broadband internet to all its residents. Akiak youth talk with engineers and a technician, October 19, 2021. (Photo: Katie Basile / KYUK)

Tribes are getting their applications in for funds from the second round of the Biden Administration’s Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program. Altogether the federal government is sinking almost $3 billion into tribal connectivity projects. From Starlink connections in Alaska to community Wi-Fi hubs in Kansas, almost 200 tribes received grants to put them on the cusp of high-speed internet infrastructure, some of them for the first time ever. We’ll hear from some tribes about what the money is paying for and how long before they see dividends toward bridging the digital divide.

GUESTS

President Dennis Robinson (Qawalangin Tribe), Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska

Chairman Timothy Rhodd (Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska), chairman of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska

Geoffrey Blackwell (Omaha/Chickasaw/Choctaw/Muscogee), general counsel and chief of staff for National Congress of American Indians

Jon Walton, GM of Grey Snow Tech Services