DTC 475

   In "Network Sovereignty" Marisa Elena Duarte discusses the impact of tribal broadband deployments. She points out that while there are a lot of aspects that have to be considered while implementing new broadband infrastructure there are benefits of the final outcome that make it worth it to many tribes to deploy broadband infrastructure. She says, “They must account for the inherent, legal/political, and cultural sovereignty of tribes; the technical specifications of devices; sources of funding; policy and regulation at the local, state, and national levels; support and investment of the tribal council and other key partners; and the skill and interest of the target communities.” (112). Not only are legal and political issues considered but the use of it and by whom and how it is accessed is also considered. The benefits of using resources to put in the infrastructure really can benefit tribes. Duarte says, “This is why concepts like economic self-determination are so powe...

  Tribal sovereignty is the tribe’s right to be in control and implement their own government and law enforcement. Legally and politically this ensures that the federal government cannot continue to take everything that belongs to the tribe, this protects the people as well. Marisa Elena Duarte says, “While the sovereign rights of tribes continue to be the most powerful legal and political mechanism that US tribes have for negotiating with the federal government, and the top defense against state encroachment and private citizens wishing to profit off tribal lands and bodies”. Being able to have their own government can help them to control the improvement and infrastructure needed to preserve their culture which heavily relies on their lands and waters.  Duarte explains internet access for those who live on reservation lands as such, “It is perhaps easy for city-living folks to imagine the Internet as something “out there,” as invisible and ephemeral as droplets of water ...