Reservation News

9000+ Southern California Native American Tribal Members To Get Better Internet Through $30,000 Grant From the Internet Society Foundation

Nov. 17, 2020 - Teagan, age 14, looks out the window of his home on tribal land, waiting for his laptop to load that morning’s Zoom school session. He is one of over a thousand children living on a Reservation in the remote mountains of eastern San Diego County, sharing fiber internet delivered via microwave from a tower over 6 miles away. He shares his wifi with his mother, father, and sister, all of whom need it to access their school and work.

Matthew Rantanen, the Director of Technology Southern California Tribal Chairmen's Association Tribal Digital Village, says: “We’ve been working for nearly 2 decades to improve internet access on tribal land. Kids need to get online to attend school and do homework during COVID-19, parents need the internet to search for jobs. Today, 13 tribal nations in southern California are partially connected to high-quality internet access and the Tribal Digital Village Network (TDVNet) project will bring the capacity of the fiber further toward the center of the network within the next 6-12 months, thus decreasing any bottlenecks in the system that would restrict more bandwidth being deployed to individual homes, and allowing us to connect those homes that aren’t currently connected.”

Currently, over 9000 people living in 2200 tribal homes in southern California have no internet access or internet access that does not match their family’s needs during COVID-19. Nearly 400 of those homes are connected to TDVNet, and increasing the capacity through this project will allow greater bandwidth deployment to all of those homes. This project will beam fast internet to the level-up the existing infrastructure.

“We’ve provided Internet with our Tribal Digital Village Network to our communities for nearly two decades. As we are expanding to thousands of homes, we need the ability to bring the capacity of our fiber closer to the bulk of our reservations. That is why we’re grateful for the Internet Society Foundation’s Beyond the Net Grant program. In the next year, there’s going to be a major improvement to the capacity in access to the internet in our communities and it will be thanks to this grant,” says Denis Turner, Executive Director of the Southern California Tribal Chairmen's Association.

By the numbers:9000+: the number of people with new access to modern internet speeds (10 Gigs, 10 Kms) in the 2200 tribal homes and 13 tribal nations who would benefit from this project. 1500+: the number of students who will have high-speed internet access through libraries and resources centers (there will be overlap with the number above, but we want to highlight this population specifically). 10 Gigs/10 Kms: The project will use cutting edge technology to move the fiber capacity of their 10Gig Circuit wirelessly 7.2 miles further into the network.

The Internet Society Foundation grants Beyond the Net Grants like this to local chapters of the Internet Society. The San Francisco Bay Area Chapter, the group of volunteers who reached out to Matthew Rantanen and applied for the grant has 1000+ members and is always looking for more. Their Project Chair, Jessica Dickinson Goodman, says: “Access to high-speed internet today is the difference between being able to keep up in school -- and not; being able to keep a job -- and not; being able to find resources, stay connected with socially-distanced family, influence key government decisions -- and not. Pre-COVID-19, internet connectivity on tribal land was dire and tribal communities were deeply under-served. COVID-19 has only laid bare these injustices and aggravated them. Fixing this problem won’t just solve problems for families trying to survive the pandemic: it will set them up to be stronger and more connected than before it began. Our board is proud to partner with Matthew Rantanen, the Internet Society Foundation, SCTCA and TDVNet in this important work.”

Please contact Internet Society: San Francisco Bay Area Chapter Project Chair Jessica Dickinson Goodman (650-804-9044 | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) for more information, photos of the tribal land where this will be installed, and additional details.

The Internet Society - San Francisco Bay Area Chapter
The San Francisco Bay Area Internet Society Chapter is one of the largest Internet Society chapters in the United States, serving the San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley and the rest of California by promoting the core values of the Internet Society. Our goals are to: provide a platform for members to engage in Internet issues that include Internet governance, Data Protection, Privacy, Security, IoT, Internet Technologies, Standards and Access; promote the Internet Society’s core values; interact with other ISOC Chapters and relevant Internet industry groups; disseminate information on the issues of importance to Chapter members. We are always looking for new members, please sign-up here and select “San Francisco Bay Area Chapter”: https://portal.internetsociety.org/622619/form/join
More: http://sfbayisoc.org

The Internet Society Foundation
The Internet Society Foundation was established in 2019 to support the positive difference the Internet can make to people everywhere. In partnership with other change makers, the Foundation promotes the development of the Internet as a resource to enrich people's lives and serve as a force for good in society. Focusing in five programme areas, the Foundation awards grants to Internet Society Chapters as well as non-profit organizations and individuals dedicated to providing meaningful access to an open, globally-connected, secure and trustworthy Internet for everyone.
More: https://www.isocfoundation.org/

Southern California Tribal Chairmen's Association
The Southern California Tribal Chairmen's Association (SCTCA) is a multi-service non-profit corporation established in 1972 for a consortium of 20 federally-recognized Indian tribes in Southern California. The primary mission of SCTCA is to serve the health, welfare, safety, education, cultural, economic and employment needs of its tribal members and descendants in the San Diego County urban areas. A board of directors comprised of tribal chairpersons from each of its member Tribes governs SCTCA. SCTCA coordinates and administers numerous grant programs for its members and the southern California Indian community, including: Tribal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Law Enforcement, Food Commodities, Information Technology Services, Rincon Community Child Development Center, Adult Vocational Training, Career Development Center, Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), the Library Program, Child Care Development Services, Tribal Digital Village (TDV) and Resource Prevention Program. Those tribes that would benefit are working together through the Southern California Tribal Chairmen’s Association (SCTCA) is a multi-service non-profit corporation established in 1972. Member tribes are: Barona Band of Mission Indians, Cahuilla Band of Mission Indians, Campo Band of Kumeyaay Indians, Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, Ewiiaapaayp Band of Kumeyaay Indians, Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel, Inaja-Cosmit Band of Indians, Jamul Indian Village A Kumeyaay Nation, La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians, La Posta Band of Mission Indian, Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeño Indians, Manzanita Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, Mesa Grande Band of Mission Indians, Pala Band of Mission Indians, Pauma Band of Luiseño Indians, Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians, San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians, Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians, and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation.
See map: https://bit.ly/ConnectingTribesMap
More: https://sctca.net

The Tribal Digital Village Network (TDVNet)
The Tribal Digital Village Network (TDVNet) has been in existence since 2001, so they’ve seen a ton of change in Tech over the 2 decades. At TDVNet, they have been able to obtain fiber at the head-end and finally the tail-end of their network in the last 5 years, and it has increased the services to our Tribal communities greatly, however, the cost of technology to move that capacity that the fiber brings, further into the middle of our network to increase opportunity to more of the community is cost-prohibitive.

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