A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Talon Lane, a proud member of the Cherokee Nation and an outspoken advocate for digital inclusion.

Most amazingly, Talon is 12 years old.

Talon and I had a very constructive conversation and I invite you to check out our video below. While articles have been written about the Internet access gap on tribal lands, in rural areas and in low income inner cities, there’s no substitute for Talon’s first-hand account of what it’s like to do homework on the reservation without adequate or even any access.

While the digital divide and the homework gap have been with us for decades, the role of connectivity as a basic human right has never been more on display than it is right now.

There is an immediate opportunity to start remedying this situation on tribal lands.

Tribes have until August 3 to file for access to the Educational Broadband Spectrum over their own lands for free. Organizations like MuralNet, the Network Startup Resource Center, and the Tribal Digital Village will help tribes apply to the FCC for this bandwidth, which otherwise will be auctioned to the highest bidder after the filing deadline. Obtaining access to this spectrum is one step towards acquiring an asset that can help to build connectivity for Native Americans.

You can help Talon and other Native Americans by sharing this information widely.
Thanks for your help in another step toward digital inclusion.