WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a full committee hearing today titled Closing the Digital Divide: Connecting Native Nations and Communities to the 21st Century. 

Witness List: 

Mr. Geoffrey C. Blackwell, Chief, Office of Native Affairs and Policy, Federal Communications Commission

Mr. Alapaki Nahale-a, Chairman, Department of Hawaiian Homelands

Ms. Loris Ann Taylor, President and Chief Executive Officer, Native Public Media

Mr. Myron P. Naneng Sr., President, Association of Village Council Presidents 

Mr. John Badal, Chief Executive Officer, Sacred Wind Communications 

Key Quotations from Today’s Hearing:

“Access to modern communications is not a luxury. It's a right. All people, no matter who they are or where they live, deserve access to basic telephone service, wireless service, and broadband. Without access to these services, too many of our citizens will be left on the wrong side of the digital divide and denied the kind of job opportunities, educational development, health care options, and personal safety that modern communications networks can provide. In our Native nations and communities, neither wireless service nor broadband service is on par with other parts of the country. I look forward to working with Senator Inouye and my Committee colleagues to do our part to close this digital divide and provide our Native lands with the communications infrastructure necessary to prosper and thrive in the 21st century.”

Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV

"Historically Native communities have had less access to telecommunications services than any other segment of the U.S. population. The lack of good, reliable, and affordable telecommunications infrastructure impedes economic development, educational opportunities, language retention and preservation, and access to health care and emergency services. The Native people of our great nation need and deserve the same opportunities and ability to communicate that is already enjoyed by the majority of U.S. Communities. This infrastructure is long overdue and we must work to ensure that our Native communities are fully connected."

Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) 

“The negative impacts of history fell particularly hard on Tribal and Native Communities, and aspects of this history resulted in an alarming lack of critical infrastructures. Broadband opportunities can do much to level this history in bringing health care, education, and jobs to Native Nations, but it must be available, accessible, and affordable to meet its promise. We have heard several recurring themes in our conversations with Native leaders – continue to meet with us, listen to us, and use what we tell you to bring communications on Tribal lands into the 21st century.”

Mr. Geoffrey C. Blackwell, Chief, Office of Native Affairs and Policy, Federal Communications Commission

“The State of Hawaii, and its rural Native Hawaiian communities in particular, face unique hardships in accessing broadband because of the state’s non-contiguous configuration in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Despite the challenges of geography and expense, broadband can be the great equalizer for Native peoples, particularly those residing in rural communities. Broadband is a powerful tool to transform and advance our people to a greater level of economic self-sufficiency, educational achievement, and cultural awareness and pride.”

Mr. Alapaki Nahale-a, Chairman, Department of Hawaiian Homelands

“In the United States, there are 565 federally recognized American Indian Tribes and approximately 4.1 million American Indians and Alaska Natives. Thirty-two percent of this population still is without basic telephone service. Ninety percent of Native Americans have no access to high speed Internet. The absence of adequate communications services in Indian Country is no accident. Decades of failed federal policy, market forces, and the socioeconomic conditions of Native American populations located in some of the most remote areas of the country result in high build-out costs for all media. For the foreseeable future, we need your help in preserving and expanding the public broadcast system in Indian Country.”

Ms. Loris Ann Taylor, President and Chief Executive Officer, Native Public Media

“We at the Alaska Federation of Natives see the benefits of expanding broadband access in rural Alaska. These benefits include: providing greater opportunities for getting information, expanding local economies in villages, and enhancing communication for potential use in search and rescue operations, health services, and education in schools. It is my hope that our leaders in Congress and the Oval Office will realize that many Americans who live in rural Alaska still lack the communications infrastructure that can improve their quality of life.”

Mr. Myron P. Naneng Sr., President, Association of Village Council Presidents

“The telecommunications formula applied on many tribal and other rural lands across our country can be described as follows: the wrong company, using the wrong technology, lacking adequate resources, is required to serve the most costly areas of the country. To ensure that tribes are given the opportunity to influence their own telecommunications future, the federal government, through the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture and the Federal Communications Comission should coordinate to create more programs that would encourage rural local exchange carriers to develop tribal-oriented systems, and to encourage tribes to own and operate their own systems, using all alternative telecommunications solutions to meet their needs. Many tribes will need help.”

Mr. John Badal, Chief Executive Officer, Sacred Wind Communications

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