Opinion: Our tribal communities should have the same access to internet connectivity as others

Mazzetti is the chief of the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians, where he resides. bear is chairman of the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians, where he resides. Welch is the chairman of the Barona Band of Mission Indians and resides on the Barona reservation.

California has made significant progress in improving internet access and narrowing the digital divide since the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a December 2023 survey by the University of Southern California, the California Technology Development Fund and the California Department of Technology, statewide broadband adoption remains high with 91 percent of California households enjoying Internet access with high speed at home.

But there is more to be done if tribal people are to achieve equality with non-reserved people.

California’s low-income rural and tribal communities remain on the wrong side of the digital divide. The digital divide has widened on tribal lands in California, with more than a quarter of households having no 100-megabit-per-second broadband service. In addition, according to the Federal Communications Commission, nearly 28 percent of tribal land residents lack high-speed broadband, compared to 1.5 percent of urban residents. Challenges to broadband deployment include geological barriers, challenging terrain, low population density, high poverty and financing of broadband projects.

As leaders of three Southern California tribal communities, we understand that broadband access is essential to how our residents connect to employment opportunities, educational resources, health care and more. That’s why each of us is working to close the digital divide in our communities by connecting our tribal residents and businesses with reliable and affordable Internet service.

Remote working, applying for jobs, online education, and telehealth all require adequate Internet service. The pandemic brought the issue into focus: It was extremely difficult for tribal employees to work from their homes, tribal students to access their schoolwork, and for elderly tribal adults to make doctor appointments online. This lack of adequate internet service led to widespread challenges. Unemployment soared as people were unable to apply for jobs or work remotely, worsening health care outcomes as seniors could not easily consult their doctors online, and a marked loss of student learning occurred because many students could not participate effectively in online classes. These complicated issues highlighted the digital divide and highlighted the critical need for better internet infrastructure in tribal communities to ensure everyone has equal access to these essential services.

Having more reliable internet networks is also a critical part of encouraging tribal community members to return to our reservations, which is a recent trend in each of our communities. Our bookings continue to grow and tribal members expect to have access to high speed internet. Having broadband access is not only important for today – but for generations to come.

Now is the time for tribes across California to use this historic investment in tribal communities by the federal and California state governments to connect their tribal members to reliable and affordable high-speed Internet. This includes the federal government’s Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program and $2 billion in funding to the state of California from the Federal Funding Account, which will help build last-mile infrastructure for Californians without access to broadband service with high speed.

Each of us has taken appropriate steps to leverage historic investments in tribal communities by the federal and state governments, while also working with private broadband providers to bring high-speed Internet access to our communities.

For example, the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians is working to bring broadband service to homes on Rincon tribal land to benefit its residents. Last year, the San Pasqual Tribe announced an agreement to expand AT&T’s fiber network to residential and small businesses. The Barona Band of Mission Indians has plans to bring broadband to connect its residents to high-speed Internet.

As tribal leaders, we also support efforts to modernize our communications networks. We want to ensure that tribal communities have equal access to the daily benefits and long-term economic opportunities that come with modern connectivity.

There is still work to be done to provide Internet connectivity to serve the unique needs of California’s Native Americans. Recent government funding for broadband projects and new approved broadband projects are a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done and this will require a collaborative effort between all levels of government and providers of the internet. Today, it is critical that each of California’s 109 Indian tribes have access to broadband, which will help promote digital inclusion through educational and workforce opportunities, public health and economic development.