Grand Canyon Times

Five Arizona tribes will share over $105.8 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce (USDOC) as part of the Biden administration's Internet for All Initiative.

The funds will be distributed to the tribes through the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program for access to high-speed internet, according to AzCentral.com. 

"Closing the digital divide for tribes in Arizona has been a long-held priority," Bernadine Burnette, president of the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, said. "The Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program grants will assist our students with equal access to educational opportunities. Tribes will be able to fully participate in e-commerce activities as well as bring state-of-the-art medical technologies such as telemedicine to their communities, even in rural and remote locations."

The grant will be presented to Hopi Telecommunications, Inc.; the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority; the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona; San Carlos Apache Tribal Council/Triplet Mountain Communications, Inc.; and the White Mountain Apache Tribe, KGUN reported.

"This funding also will improve the quality of life, spur economic development activity, and create opportunities for remote employment by expanding broadband access to tribal members in the various Pascua Yaqui communities,” Peter Yucupicio, Pascua Yaqui tribal chairman, said.

More than 33,000 homes across the five tribal territories will gain broadband access through the grants, according to KGUN.

"Direct investment into tribal communities is a crucial step in closing the digital divide in Indian country while protecting local customs and traditions and creating new opportunities for global engagement and growth," Gina Raimondo, U.S. secretary of commerce, told AzCentral.com.

Yucupicio told KGUN that the funds will be used to provide internet service to 69 government buildings and nine businesses. The funds will also be used to connect the Yaqui Tribe's data center to outlying areas and new developments through the use of fiber optic cable.

Jonathan Nez, president of the Navajo Nation, said the ability to attract and keep skilled workers could be an added benefit of improved connectivity.

"We'll be able to bring our young, educated people home," he told AzCentral.com. "People who have had to move away for jobs will be able to talk with their parents."

The effects will be felt in other areas not normally associated with technology, state Rep. Tom O'Halleran (D-Flagstaff) said.

"Artists won't have to come to town and sell their work at a lower rate; they can use the internet to sell directly," he said. "This will make a tremendous change in tribal lands."

Yucupicio said the Yaqui needed the grant to take on necessary projects.

"This important Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program award will empower the Pascua Yaqui tribe to carry out critical capital projects that directly support work, education, and health monitoring on the reservation, utilizing remote options in response to the coronavirus public health emergency," he said. 

Nez expressed gratitude to the Biden administration after the grants were announced and said the administration is receptive to tribal causes in the Southwest. 

"We have a seat at the table with the Biden-Harris administration,” he told Indian Gaming. "Through our discussions with President Biden, Secretary Raimondo, and NTIA [the USDOC's National Telecommunications and Information Administration], we were successful in demonstrating the need for increased broadband connectivity to support our students, first responders, businesses, and families. This funding will help the Navajo Nation to build on the success that we've had with expanding broadband through the CARES Act and the recently approved American Rescue Plan Act funds. We are building a stronger nation for future generations."