National Tribal Broadband Summit

The National Tribal Broadband Summit will connect tribal leaders with private sector and federal decision makers to explore ways to expand broadband capacity and investment in American Indian and Alaska Native communities, schools, and libraries. The summit will showcase new technologies and innovative partnership solutions that are critical to bridging the connectivity divide in Indian Country. As part of the larger effort to close the digital divide in Indian Country, the National Tribal Broadband Summit will connect community leaders with information and resources to identify opportunities for public and private sector solutions to close the connectivity gap in schools and libraries on tribal lands. 

September 23, 2019

Main Interior Building, 1849 C ST NW, Washington, DC

8:00   AM     Registration

9:00   AM     Welcome & Opening Remarks

Joe Garcia, Head Councilman, Ohway Owingeh
Doug Hoelscher, Director, White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
Tara Sweeney, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, US Department of the Interior

9:30 AM     Impact of Broadband in Native Communitie

Kate MacGregor, Deputy Chief of Staff, exercising the Authority of the Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior
Ajit Pai, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission
Tyler Scribner, Policy Analyst, National Congress of American Indians
Kimball Sekaquaptewa, Chief Technology Director, Santa Fe Indian School, New Mexico 
Nancy Weiss, General Counsel, Institute of Museum and Library Services 
Nicole Umayam, Digital Inclusion Librarian, State Library of Arizona
Joseph Grogan, Director, Domestic Policy Council

10:30 AM     Panel: Key Elements of Successful Broadband Deployment & Adoption

Moderator: Ann Tracy, MLIS of Treacy Information Service and Broadband Engagement Team for Blandin Foundation
Tyler Scribner, Policy Analyst, National Congress of American Indians
Kimball Sekaquaptewa, Chief Technology Director, Santa Fe Indian School, New Mexico
Nicole Umayam, Digital Inclusion Librarian, State Library of Arizona

11:30 AM     Lunch on your own

1:00   PM     Building a Community Broadband Roadmap

Jean Rice, Senior Broadband Program Specialist, National Telecommunications & Information Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce

Discover the steps to take to build a broadband roadmap. The session is based on NTIA' s Planning a Community Broadband Roadmap. The Toolkit's goal is to help tribes expand broadband access locally to create jobs, improve educational opportunities, promote economic development, spur private investment, and facilitate the delivery of essential social services to their citizens.  The steps that will be covered are designed to foster a common broadband vision, prioritize needs and interests, and catalyze stakeholder commitment to invest in the needed physical infrastructure, organizational capacity, and human and capital assets.

2:00   PM     Coffee & Networking Break

2:30   PM     Breakout Sessions

Whether you are looking for best practices in building partnerships, learning about the latest technologies for broadband access in rural communities, looking for funding opportunities, or understanding how to leverage your new connectivity to protect and preserve culture – Explore this series of breakout sessions.

• Broadband Engineering Fundamentals  -  Connectivity Solutions
• Broadband and Public Safety  -  Social & Economic Wellbeing
• From Gown to Town: How Higher Ed is Leveraging Technology to Deliver Workforce Development Opportunities for Place Bound Workers -  Social & Economic Wellbeing
• Improving Tribal Education and Health through Distance Learning and Telemedicine  -  Funding Broadband
• Workshop: Broadband 101 for Tribal Libraries  -  Planning & Implementation
• Making Opportunity Zones Work on Trust Land  -  Funding Broadband

3:30   PM     Breakout Sessions 

• How to Leverage E-Rate to Bring Broadband to your Community  -  Community Engagement & Partnerships
• Achieving a Connected Arctic: Impacts of the Multi-Year Plan to Bring Broadband to the Villages of the Arctic North Slope  -  Connectivity Solutions
• NTUA & Commnet: Partnerships that Succeed  - Community Engagement & Partnerships
• Rights of Way the Right Way - Planning & Implementation
• Preserving Native Languages  -  Protect & Preserve Culture
• USDA Program for Broadband Infrastructure  -  Funding Broadband

4:30   PM     Closing Remarks

Chad Rupe, Administrator, Rural Utilities Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture

September 24, 2019

Main Interior Building, 1849 C ST NW, Washington, DC

9:00   AM     Welcome & Keynote Address

Dr. Aaron A. Payment, Chairperson, Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians
Dr. Kathryn K. Matthew, Director, Institute of Museum and Library Sciences
Senator Martha McSally, Arizona

9:30   AM     Breakout Sessions

• Different Approaches to get the Broadband Infrastructure Your Tribe Needs  -  Funding Broadband
• 5G: The Next Generation of Wireless Networks and the Benefits They Will Bring  -  Connectivity Solutions
• The Power of Broadband Partnerships  -  Community Engagement & Partnerships
• Using Broadband Data to Accelerate Community Planning  -  Planning & Implementation
• Private Sector Engagement & Public-Private Partnership  -  Community Engagement & Partnerships

10:30   AM     Breakout Sessions

• Microgrids and Resiliency for Broadband Infrastructure  -  Connectivity Solutions
• Mind the Gap: Mapping Federal Lands and Telecommunications Infrastructure  -  Planning & Implementation
• The Federal Universal Service Schools and Libraries (E-Rate) and Rural Health Care (RHC) Programs  -  Funding Broadband
• Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Bank Financing for Rural Broadband Initiatives  -  Funding Broadband
• Spectrum Opportunities – Federal Communications Commission 2.5 GHz Rural Tribal Priority Window- Opportunity for Tribes  -  Connectivity Solutions

11:30 AM     Connectivity Marketplace & Lunch on your own

1:30   PM     Breakout Sessions

• Bridging the Digital Divide with Diversified Funding & Partnerships  - Community Engagement & Partnerships
• Broadband in Indian Country - Planning & Implementation 
• Broadband: Breaking the Digital Divide - Connectivity Solutions
• Developing Your Broadband Roadmap Workshop - Planning & Implementation

2:30   PM     Breakout Sessions

• Leveraging Connectivity for Cultural Education and Engagement - Protect & Preserve Culture
• Focusing STEM Learning on Solving Health Challenges in Native Communities - Social & Economic Wellbeing
• Federal Resources and Support to Advance Telehealth for Tribal Communities - Social & Economic Wellbeing
• Verizon Network Solutions in Rural Communities - Connectivity Solutions

3:30   PM     Plenary Presentation

Allyson Mitchell, General Manager, Mohawk Networks

In this presentation, you’ll discover how the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe in Akwesasne, a community that is dissected between the U.S. and Canadian border, used a combination of grant funds and tribal investment to build a fiber optic network for their residents and businesses, driving a new economy that has impacted the entire community. Mohawk Networks, LLC is in its third-year of a start-up and the General Manager will discuss lessons learned, the importance of community engagement, opportunities, and the road to sustainability.

4:30   PM     Closing Remarks

Lance Fisher, Northern Cheyenne
Tara Sweeney, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior