BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
Tribal communities receive internet for the first time
Tribal communities across the North Coast are getting highspeed broadband internet access for the first time. In partnership with EnerTribe, the Yurok, Hoopa Valley and Karuk Tribes have enhanced broadband access in rural tribal communities.
Earlier this week, the Yurok Connect team completed the installation of a 150-foot tower in Wautec — the most remote part of the Yurok Reservation — providing first-time internet access to approximately 200 customers.
Yurok Tribal Chairman Joseph L. James said the Tribe is “quickly moving to the right side of the digital divide.”
“Access to high-speed internet will significantly improve the everyday lives of Yurok citizens and non-Indian reservation residents,” James said in a prepared statement. “This project will facilitate progress in several key areas, including, education, healthcare and economic development. When it comes to developing a prosperous community, internet access is just as important as the basic utilities.”
The Yurok Information Technology Department and Yurok Connect Team, in partnership with EnerTribe, have worked to
boost existing tower sites and add new towers to better accommodate broadband speeds over the last eight months, according to Walter Hoffman, the Yurok Tribe’s Broadband Technician.
“I can’t officially say when the project is going to be finished, it depends on the weather, but I would guess by this summer,” Hoffman told the Times-Standard on Thursday. “Wautec is part of three towers that have been upgraded in the Weitchpec area of the Yurok Reservation. There are also towers at Miner’s Creek and Wiregrass Ridge — which are just references to our remote sites — and they’re about 100 to 150-foot towers. The ground has been broken in Klamath Glen and it’s also going to be a 150-foot tower.”
EnerTribe, a Native American and woman-owned firm, partners with tribes, state and federal agencies and broadband providers across the country.
“The Yurok Reservation has little to no cellular or broadband services due to the remote and rural terrain,” CEO Forest James told the Times-Standard via email. “In some cases, parts of the reservation have only just received electricity. EnerTribe is contracted with the Yurok tribe to engineer and construct a completely new, state-of-the-art broadband access system traversing the mountainous region next to the Redwood and Six Rivers national parks on the Yurok reservation.”
EnerTribe has also partnered with the Hoopa Valley and Karuk Tribes for similar projects. EnerTribe is the leading firm for the Karuk and Yurok Tribe’s Klamath River Rural Broadband Initiative (KRRBI), James said.
“The Hoopa tribe, like (the Yurok and Karuk Tribes), has made use of CARES Act funds to deploy this critical network. EnerTribe has also successfully helped fund a Fiber-to-the-Home network for the Hoopa Valley set be constructed over the course of the next seven years by means of the California Advanced Services Fund,” he said. “…The Karuk tribe has completely rebuilt their wireless internet service provider.”
Reached by email on Wednesday afternoon, Hoopa Valley Public Utilities District general manager Linnea Jackson told the TimesStandard inadequate internet access across all three reservations “has only been amplified by the pandemic.”
“Knowing that in the very near future, not only would there be internet access being provided by a tribal entity and fiber-optic builds to the home, but we will have multiple routes of redundancy is mind-blowing,” Jackson said. “For many, this service may be taken for granted, but this internet access, multiple projects and tribal partnerships will have a great and lasting impact on this entire region for generations to come.”
The Hoopa Valley Public Utilities District plans to collaborate with Yurok Connect and Karuk Áan Chúuphan Internet Services for interconnection agreements to provide routes for redundancy and provide network resiliency, Jackson said.
“It is an exciting time for our tribal nations to manage and provide critical communications to our people,” Jackson said. “This potential partnership between the Hoopa, Yurok and Karuk would span across multiple counties and develop a strong foundation for the North Coast Tribes. Our three tribes are in beautiful, yet rural locations and are historically underserved. The ability for tribal entities to facilitate these essential services to our rural locations will have a positive impact on education, healthcare, and economic opportunities.”