Preserving Indigenous communities means bringing them online
The internet ranks among the greatest innovations in history. Yet in spite of continuing progress, four billion people around the world still remain offline, and some of them live in Canada. The bulk of today’s public discourse takes place online, so those who lack access to digital media are less likely to be civically engaged. The stakes are highest for Indigenous people, whose deprivation limits their political participation.
Their assimilation, should they continue to abandon reserves, also jeopardizes Canada’s diverse character. Canadians are obliged to recognize that fortifying our democratic society, and reconciling with Indigenous Peoples in a tangible manner, requires us to remedy the digital disparity that exists.
For many Indigenous communities, gaining reliable and affordable broadband access is a matter of cultural survival.
The community of Maskwacis, which comprises four First Nations reserves, is a telling example. Located in central Alberta, many there have long struggled with gang violence, addiction and a shortage of potable water. They are also missing an acceptable communications infrastructure, the lack of which is stymieing economic development.
At least one resident’s resourcefulness gives cause for optimism. An Al Jazeera documentary last summer showcased Bruce Buffalo’s effort to help revitalize Maskwacis by providing free Wi-Fi to his neighbourhood.
Bruce told me last fall that fundraising has helped him sustain the project. Still, the reserve’s rural location forces him to pay a high price relative to the quality of service received and he is looking to raise more money to expand coverage. As a tech entrepreneur, Bruce’s MaskwacisFibre project is his livelihood.
In search of a better life, Indigenous Canadians are migrating to cities faster than any other ethnic group. Although young people who choose to leave reserves will pass down aspects of their ancestors’ culture, the communities they leave behind will atrophy so long as successive generations withdraw. Onreserve development can ensure that no one is forced to choose between their culture and their future.
Some might say digital access cannot be a priority compared to the mental health and contaminated-water crises that continue to plague Indigenous communities. Compared to these problems, high-speed internet may seem like a luxury to which attention can be postponed.
Yet it would be a mistake to put broadband on the back burner. Peering in on a dire situation from a position of privilege makes one vulnerable to the bigotry of low expectations. We must guard against the callous and hypocritical temptation to treat the meagre gains of impoverished communities as “good enough” if the ensuing standards don’t meet those which we take for granted ourselves.
It is true that physical, logistical and fiscal hurdles will hinder infrastructure development, especially for Inuit communities whose remoteness poses immense engineering challenges. It is also true that appeals to pragmatism too of- ten serve as cover for apathy and double standards.
And while a modern digital communications infrastructure on its own is no silver bullet for the poverty trap, without one, a brighter future is impossible. The internet occupies and connects people, helps them search for work, and enables telemedicine.
Digital media make learning more accessible and engaging for students, offering them greater incentive to finish school. Tech projects like Bruce Buffalo’s have the potential to allay a number of the most pressing difficulties that Indigenous reserves face, including “brain drain.”
The standard of living in Canada is one of the highest in the world — except in many Indigenous communities. That is a glaring caveat.
Providing all with satisfactory digital access will enrich Canada’s economy and democracy by incorporating new voices into our public discourse.
Most of all, though, closing the internet gap will set the stage for real, lasting reconciliation. Digital access permits Indigenous people to become equal citizens in more than word alone: by stimulating economic development and promoting civil engagement, it returns local autonomy to Indigenous communities, instantiating a sovereignty that should never have been taken from them in the first place.
Canadians must live up to our values by bridging the digital divide. Failing to act decisively would mean allowing a great injustice to fester, and risks the erosion of Indigenous cultures over time, all to the detriment of our democracy’s unique vibrancy.