“It’s technology enabling a community for self-
determination,” he said.
One of the largest organizations representing
tribes, the National Congress of American
Indians, is asking the FCC to reconsider eligibility
requirements, particularly when it comes to
the definition of tribal land and the inclusion of
“rural.” The organization said tribes that don’t
have reservations or that don’t have contiguous
parcels of trust land would be left out.
The FCC defined rural tribal lands as being
outside urbanized areas and with a population of
less than 50,000 people. The National Congress of
American Indians said that could exclude tribes
with land near Seattle or Phoenix, for example.
“This trust relationship and responsibility
applies equally to all federally recognized tribal
nations, not just to certain sub-sets of tribal
nations based on the location of tribal lands,” the
organization wrote to the FCC.
Federally recognized tribes and tribally owned
entities, including colleges and universities,
are eligible to apply for the licenses under the
tribal priority.
Maps on the FCC’s website show tribes what
spectrum is available over their land. The
FCC staff also has been traveling across the
country meeting with tribes to explain how the
licensing works.
Mariel Triggs also has been reaching out to
tribes and testing small networks on tribal
lands. Triggs, chief executive of the nonprofit
MuralNet, recently worked with the Havasupai
Tribe deep in a gorge off the Grand Canyon to
set up a community network.