Tribal

In the last two years, members from our National Digital Navigator Corps have learned a lot from working on the ground in their communities, and we’re excited to share their insights, stories, and lessons with you! This is the first in a series of blogs about their experiences and what we can all learn from them, and in 2025, we’ll publish an updated digital navigator toolkit full of practical guidance. Here’s a sample of the things we’ve learned about digital navigators in rural and Native communities in particular:

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved $172 million in the sixth round of grants for last mile broadband projects as part of the $2 billion Last Mile Federal Funding Account Grant Program, which expands broadband internet access for underserved and unserved communities across California.

This document was created to support applicants in applying for the State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program: Native Entities (2024). The Notice of Funding Opportunity establishes a competitive process to make both State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program funds and State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program funds available to Native Entities to carry out digital equity and inclusion activities consistent with the Digital Equity Act. Proposed projects should address barriers to digital equity and promote:

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed a critical lack of digital equity in the United States, particularly in Indian Country. As previous Center for Indian Country Development (CICD) research has shown, before the pandemic households on federally recognized reservations were less likely to have home Internet and faced substantial

The Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative is delivering on its promise to connect everyone in America to affordable, reliable high-speed Internet service by 2030. Since the President took office, more than 2.4 million previously unserved homes and small businesses have been connected to high-speed Internet service. Below are highlights of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) achievements under the Biden-Harris Administration. 

A digital equity grant awarded to Internet2 will be used to enhance the capabilities of Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Tribal libraries. Internet2 is a nonprofit community of more than 2,000 organizations that works to provide advanced technologies that are oriented for research and education.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) announced the sixth round of recommended awardees, including three Tribes, for last mile broadband projects as part of the $2 billion Last Mile Federal Funding Account Grant Program. This program aims to expand internet access for underserved and unserved communities across California.

Broadband programs included in the 2022 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act could add $146 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), according to a new analysis from Keynesian Technology, which researches the impact of Keynesian economics on the technology industry.

Seven Star Communities is a new initiative to honor and celebrate Native nations accomplishing digital inclusion work. The Seven Star Communities program hopes to highlight outstanding work, and also provide an opportunity for Native nations to learn from each other. The application for Seven Star Communities 2024 will open towards the end of August. Seven Star Communities are Tribal governments, Native entities and organizations that are working toward digitally inclusive communities.

As Tribes work in record numbers to close the significant digital divide across Indian Country, they need good policy that facilitates self-determined and sustainable solutions. To the contrary, the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), administered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), became, for many, yet another lesson in the dangers of investing significant sums of federal money into new Internet networks on Tribal lands without regard to local knowledge or priorities, leaving Tribal governments to spend their own time and resources to fix broken processes. This report exami