The biggest issues that create the digital divide on the Navajo Nation
are funding, infrastructure, data, and spectrum rights.
What's so important about internet access is that we have autonomy
over our own stories.
It's not just that indigenous people need internet access.
It's that the internet needs indigenous people.
They need indigenous ideas and brilliance, and art.
And that's what's going to make the world a better place.
MOTHERBOARD STILL CONNECTING
NAVAJO NATION MONUMENT VALLEY, UTAH
You're going to get the coffee.
Where is the coffee?
[Laughs]
My family has lived in Monument Valley, Utah
really since time immemorial.
I was raised here my entire life
and just a lot of our lineage comes from Monument Valley area.
Monument Valley is located in the northern corner of the Navajo Nation
and the most south eastern part of Utah.
I am 24-years-old.
And I would say I may be a handful of 20-year-olds right now
in the community.
Most of our population is well over 40-years-old.
And so, there has definitely been a lot of brain drain in our community.
And if you're an artist or if you're an entrepreneur
it's hard for you to find work here
without having to create it for yourself.
That's just a huge challenge to overcome.
When talking with various organizations and community members
about what the need is and what would benefit them
the number one response was a community center.
A lot of people in my generation are now looking inward
and trying to come back home to rebuild our communities.
I've always just like to keep photos
that were important to me in my journal.
So, I have my grandmother, my mother, and then my college graduation photo
which was a milestone in my life.
But yeah, I like to just keep it here as a reminder of the woman
who came before me and the work that they did
so that I could be in the position that I'm in today.
FARMINGTON NEW MEXICO
This is my mom and my dad when I was in law school in Tucson.
They came down to visit me
and we took just funny photobooth pictures.
When I was in law school, I didn't really have a lot of opportunities
or a time to go see the land that I was learning how to protect.
So, as soon as I got out of law school, that's all I wanted to do.
I hiked the Colorado Trail, and I started doing these big runs
because I wanted to get out and see the land
that I just felt so connected to.
My homesite lease is in Monument Valley.
The big dream is to build a house out there one day.
And the reason that I don't live on it
is because it's hard to think about living out there
when maybe the healthcare is lacking, when there's no internet connection
when you're not sure about whether or not the water is healthy.
Right now, seven out of 10 homes
on rural tribal lands have absolutely no internet connection.
So, when I got to law school, I really started to ask questions of
"Why is it so different?
Why is the Navajo Nation not connected
even though you can drive 20 minutes West, and that's the Navajo Nation?"
It's really not far from Farmington, but it is so different.
And since we are a border town, you can really see the discrepancy
between being in town and being on the nation.
And I learned that spectrum is a huge part of the digital divide.
Electromagnetic spectrum is what carries the data
that creates a wireless connection.
So, any wireless connection that you use
electromagnetic spectrum is the natural resource
that the information rides on to make that work.
Spectrum licenses are very, very important
in being able to connect people, especially in a rural area.
Since spectrum is naturally occurring on the lands
it is a natural resource.
So, that means that it's encompassed in our treaties.
It says that the Navajo can live on this land.
This land is for use an occupation of the Dine' people
as long as the river runs and the grass grows.
So, that means that you need water.
That means that you need sunlight.
That means that you need clean air.
And I argue that electromagnetic spectrum
is also in that bundle of rights.
As you're driving from Farmington, deeper and deeper
into the Navajo Nation, you're going to get less and less signal.
So, on this drive going up to, we're going to completely lose phone signal.
We're not even going to be able to think
about getting some sort of data connections.
The biggest challenge when I returned from college was access to internet
and computers because I was trying to work in the community
and I was driving to Blanding, Utah, to their public library
that's 70 miles from Monument Valley.
I was like doing my work in my vehicle on my laptop
for four to five hours a day, sitting in the heat
and would look to my right or to my left
and there'd be other vehicles parked next to me doing the exact same thing.
You know, I just kept researching and thinking about
"How can we bring more resources to Monument Valley?"
I've just kind of had that dream come to mind of like
"We really need a community center."
If we increase the access to internet in our community
I know that we will see so many young people come back home.
Yeah, we'll do the same process of how people signed up beforehand.
So, it's a little bit easier logistically.
So, the beauty of Shandiin's Community Center
is that she is creating this hub that's sort of a window to the world.
And not only can people see out, but other people can see in
and also experience the beauty of the people in that community.
Hello.
Hey.
At the community center, we just had our soft opening last month.
And we've already seen over 150 people utilize our spaces
which is absolutely incredible.
- Hey, Sabrina. - Hey.
- How are you? - How's it going?
Good.
We can go ahead and go in here.
Ultimately, the goal is to replicate these community centers
across the Navajo Nation and Hopi reservation
so that more of our small rural communities
have these really vital access points.
I think in the long term, five, 10 years down the road
we'll really see how this community center has impacted our youth leaders
and our entrepreneurs, and small business owners
and how it's really fostered their growth.
And this is our classroom.
So, in here, we are working on hosting more classes more frequently.
Are you guys going to do digital literacy training?
Yeah.
So, we're hoping –
Actually, next month, we'll be doing classes on computer skills.
And then, hopefully, that will roll into just like more literacy
in general with connectivity because that is a question
we get a lot from our visitors.
It's just really a movement that's happening with our youth
in our communities who are slowly rebuilding back
to the beautiful vibrant communities we once were.
So, I'm going to do a speed test off of the hotspot first.
This major carrier that is giving you the hotspot access
they own the spectrum.
So, my work with Spectrum Sovereignty argues
that the tribe should own that spectrum so that they can be the ones
to give you hotspots and set up that infrastructure
in order to provide service.
How far off do you think we are to actually making that a reality
where Navajo Nation would actually own rights to spectrum?
There are little crumbs and little dribbles that come policy-wise
but I think that native nations really need to just stand up and say
"This is our natural resource
and we have the ability to connect to our people who need it
who are using it for purposes like this.
And so, this is our spectrum, and you're not allowed to auction it off"
and just tell the FCC like, "We're taking our spectrum back."
When you look at tribal communities like the Navajo Nation
unfortunately in a lot of spaces
we are in control of our own narrative, right?
So, what someone may learn about our community
doesn't come from us directly.
I think what's so important and really special
about the potential of internet access is that we have autonomy
over our own stories and the narrative of our community.
The Dine', the Navajo, are magic.
The Dine' are so wise and funny, and brilliant
you really just have to see it and experience it.
They get stronger from each other
because like Darrah, she's already been through law school.
And Shandiin, she's just getting ready to go.
So, she's a mentor to her.
And she looks up to her as a big sister also.
Shandiin, she's always been a go-getter.
She just tries really hard to keep up with her.
[Laughs]
This worldview of togetherness that you're connected to everything
and that is just such a beautiful lens to have of the world.
And for us to have a way to share that knowledge
with the world is so important.
CREDITS
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