Oglala Lakota Telecom broadband creates opportunities beyond the reservation

WAKPAMNI COMMUNITY CENTER – After decades of struggling with poor internet connectivity, the Wakpamni Lake and Batesland communities celebrated a technological milestone Monday as Oglala Lakota Telecommunications (OLT), LLC held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to launch high-speed broadband service to 168 homes. The completion of the 2.5 GHz fixed wireless site represents a significant step toward digital sovereignty for the Oglala Sioux Tribe (OST), bridging a digital divide that has long isolated rural tribal communities from essential online services like telehealth, education, and economic opportunities.

The Wakpamni Lake Community Center hosted about 25-to 30 people for the event including OLT officers, board members and staff, guest speakers OST President Frank Star Comes Out, tribal attorney Mario Gonzales, other leaders from the Seven Council Fires, as well as community members. The Mahpiya Luta Middle School Singers gave a prayer song.

It has become clear to many Native Americans whether living in or away from their tribal communities, that being internet literate is essential to not only the well-being of the tribal economy but tribal members as well. “This isn’t just about speed,” said OLT CEO Randy Hughes. “It’s about making sure that every child can learn online, every elder can access telehealth and every entrepreneur can build a future right here at home.”

Many reservations are located in remote areas and have historically lacked basic infrastructure including reliable and affordable internet service. The Pine Ridge Reservation with its 3,500 square miles of land is considered one of the largest reservations in the United States.

Many chuckled with OLT board member Dustin Twiss when he said, “I want to get better connected to the south side of the reservation.” Tribal members make do, but the inability to communicate within the reservation boundaries is real. Twiss, who grew up and still lives in the Cuny Table Stronghold area, expressed what many are hoping the project will bring. “You hear a lot about how our greatest export here is our youth. I’m hoping this project will change that and that we will be able to retain our youth. We’re going to be able to give them strong opportunities for a good career. Not only with our operation but to be able to put the tools together that they need for their own businesses and to strengthen the tribe across the thousands of miles of reservation lands.”

A press release from OLT said that the OST have had little or no influence over the services provided there, how the networks providing those services are deployed and how services are provisioned. While there are patches of terrestrial internet, or land-based internet service that uses ground infrastructure, there are large pockets where reliable service at acceptable speeds is not available.

OLT said the broadband gap turned deadly during the COVID pandemic. Elders were isolated. Students were disconnected. The pandemic disrupted access for everyone but for tribal communities the disruption of basic services amplified long-standing systemic inequities, historical underfunding, and geographical isolation. The chronic issues with healthcare, infrastructure and poverty were worsened by the pandemic.

Frustrated with consistently being overlooked for reliable broadband service, tribal officials made a pivotal decision: they would no longer remain dependent on outside providers. Instead, the tribe resolved to take ownership of their technological future by becoming both the customer and the provider of internet services. This shift has empowered the community to directly oversee how internet infrastructure was deployed and managed on their land, ensuring that their unique needs and priorities would finally be addressed.

They put together a plan to ensure that those services are available and provided in an equitable and culturally sensitive manner. They turned to the Cheyenne River Telephone Authority (CRTA) to guide them in their development.

The CRTA, which is a business enterprise owned and operated by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (CRST), has served that community for more than 65 years. It is considered an economic pillar for the tribe, according to Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) website, and is listed as the second-largest business on the Cheyenne River Reservation and includes subsidiaries for cable TV, satellites, propane, and more.

OLT officials said the process does take time, but they assured attendees that the process, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), was complete.

OST tribal attorney Mario Gonzales was one of the many in attendance. “Today’s achievement is more than just about technology, it’s about connectivity, opportunity and the future of our people on this reservation,” said Gonzalez. “This project represents a critical step forward in closing the digital divide and providing our community with the tools to thrive in the modern world.”

Kathleen Wooden Knife, Rosebud Sioux Tribal President, thanked the middle school singers, as she remembered the devastating impacts of the pandemic. “You know, it’s just one of those things that hits your heart when you start to look at our youth, and you start to think about, you know, how they’re getting behind, and it’s not by choice, and how in this world, we have to keep up globally. We can’t just keep up locally, statewide, within the United States, it has to be a global ability, and the only way we’re going to get theirs through the broadband and getting the connection and making sure that our kids are being educated and in how the world is functioning.”

Embracing this technology will provide more opportunity for preservation as well, said OLT Economic Development chair James Cross.

“We are all related in one way or another,” said Wooden Knife, who has relatives from Oglala. “I think this is fantastic and it will help us keep our connections. That’s really important, especially in today’s world. There’s a world out there that we have to fight against, that is beyond our nations, and broadband will help us keep our connections. You know, our kids are on their iPhones. They’re on computers. That’s good, because they’re learning and one day, they’re going to be the ones that are expanding and broadening.”

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