Indigenous Connectivity Summit

2022 Showcase

Photo Copyright: ANGELA GZOWSKI

A movement to bridge the Indigenous digital divide

Indigenous communities across North America live without the reliable, affordable internet they need in today’s digital world. But a fast-growing movement of connectivity champions is making great strides to change this.

Unique challenges of politics, geography, and economics mean Indigenous people are among the least digitally connected. The Indigenous Connectivity Summit was formed in 2017 to bring together Indigenous leaders, network operators, researchers and policymakers to find solutions so that all Indigenous communities can connect to fast, affordable and sustainable internet.

In its six years, the ICS has grown in both size and influence and is today the primary convening for Indigenous communities and their allies to build a digital future on their terms — putting Indigenous people at the forefront of the discussions that impact their digital future.

More than just an event, the ICS has grown into a movement of champions focused on finding, advocating, and building practical solutions to improve Indigenous Connectivity.

Indigenous Connectivity Summit 2022

Back and in-person in Manitoba

For the first time since 2019, the ICS was an in-person event, held in Winnipeg, Manitoba where we were joined by over 60+ experts and advocates all working to connect Indigenous communities. A further 600+ participants joined in online.

As we emerge from the pandemic, there appears an unprecedented level of commitment from governments, the private sector, and the philanthropic community to address the connectivity gap. Delegates attending this year's Summit were focused on ensuring that this energy translates into lasting action. They were also aware that new approaches are needed if this action is to result in lasting, systematic change that will ensure Indigenous Peoples have access to all of the opportunities internet access can provide.

Over four days, attendees participated in workshops, lightning talks and panel discussions on challenges Indigenous communities must overcome, and heard from some of the people doing game-changing work to advance digital equity across North America. Discussions focused on issues including broadband mapping, spectrum sovereignty, access to funding, and building off-grid community-run broadband networks, and much more.

Explore the slide decks presented at ICS 2022.

Beyond the formal program, a huge element of the Summit is the opportunity for participants to build lasting community. The relationships established and strengthened at this year’s summit will help to build the movement and create real progress in the years ahead.

Video On-Demand

Watch this session from the summit on Building off-grid networks with Suzanne Singer from Native Renewables.

You can explore more sessions from ICS 2022 on Vimeo.

7 takeaways from this year’s Summit

For a quick catch up on the discussion at this year’s Summit, read this 7 Key Takeaways blog post from Phil Mozejko who was the MC at this year’s event.

Indigenous Peoples are rightsholders — not (only) stakeholders.
Teamwork makes the dream work.
We need to think holistically, and act for 7 generations forward.
We must consider digital literacy and meeting people where they’re at.
The Indigenous Connectivity Institute can be transformative (more on that below)
Give back the spectrum.
The importance of allyship and “buy-in” from non-Indigenous partners.

Whether regarding spectrum, broadband connectivity projects, or broadcast communications policy, Indigenous Peoples do not stand idly by. We craft, implement, and evaluate connectivity initiatives for our respective communities and are active members in the digital equity movement. This is true across Turtle Island.
Phil Mozejko, Intern, Connect Humanity

Dive into the blog for more on these key takeaways.

Brittany Woods-Orrison, Alaska Public Interest Research Group / Native Movement

Development of Indigenous Connectivity Institute Logo

Launch of the Indigenous Connectivity Institute

This year’s event marked the official launch of the Indigenous Connectivity Institute — a new Indigenous-led community of leaders working to close the Indigenous digital divide by sharing knowledge, shaping policy, and helping people learn the skills to build and run their own internet networks.

The Institute is currently incubated within Connect Humanity and will become an independent organization and a leading voice for digital equity in First Nations, Inuit, Métis, American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities.

Hosted by the Institute for the first time, this year’s Summit represented a key milestone as it became a true community-driven event, having been previously led by the Internet Society. This year was co-organized by Connect Humanity and the Internet Society to support the transition.

Mark Buell introduced the Indigenous Connectivity Institute’s brand identity, designed by Justin Gilbert, a member of the Southern Ute Tribe, along with Institute Advisory Committee members Tracy Morris and Bill Murdoch. The Institute’s logo is inspired by a cross section of fiber duct — the cable that connects billions of people around the world through the internet.

Advocating for spectrum sovereignty

One of the main topics of discussion was ‘spectrum sovereignty’ — the idea that Indigenous communities should have the right to govern, manage, and benefit from the spectrum on and over their lands.

ISED, the Canadian government department in charge of managing spectrum, recently sought comments from the public to guide how it will manage spectrum licensing, presenting an opportunity for the ICS community to make its voice heard and advocate for spectrum sovereignty.

Participants at the Summit worked together to craft a joint-response to ISED’s consultation, which was submitted by the Indigenous Connectivity Institute.

We call on ISED to immediately stop selling spectrum licenses and renewing permits on Indigenous traditional territories, and to acknowledge Indigenous rights to govern and manage the spectrum on and over their lands.
Indigienous Connectivity Institute-led response to ISED consultation on spectrum

Read the joint-response to ISED’s consultation in full.

Frances Goli, member of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe

Training the next generation of Indigenous connectivity champions

In the lead up to the Summit, there were two six-week training programs, one on connectivity policy in Canada and the United States, and the other on the technical operations of a community network.

Participants joined online sessions to receive technical training focused on building and operating sustainable community networks, and introductory sessions on broadband policy, advocacy, and funding opportunities. On Day 1 of the Summit in Winnipeg, attendees joined a hands-on session where they learned how to crimp cable. Some of the participants will go on to join one of the multi-day Tribal Broadband Bootcamps scheduled for 2023.

This training not only prepares people to get the most out of the ICS, but it also equips them with knowledge and expertise to support the crafting of policy recommendations — or Calls to Action — a critical output of the Summit which provides advocacy focus for the coming year.

2022 Calls to Action

Each year since the first ICS in 2017, ICS delegates have developed and endorsed a set of recommendations that, if adopted by governments and other stakeholders, will help advance connectivity in Indigenous communities in Canada and the United States.

2022 Calls to Action

These Calls to Action were created through a community-driven process at this year’s Summit. Throughout the event, a team of volunteers participated in discussions and identified important themes, challenges, and opportunities to advance digital equity. On the final day of the Summit, delegates formed working groups to develop draft Calls to Action. These were posted online to a shared document for the two weeks following the Summit for further refinement. The result is the 2022 Indigenous Connectivity Summit Calls to Action.

While these Calls to Action speak for themselves, they build upon recommendations developed at past Summits. We encourage people — particularly policymakers — to read the historical record of recommendations as they shape their programs and policies. See 2019, 2020, and 2021 ICS Policy Recommendations.

"I attended ICS 2022 on a youth scholarship and found it to be the most participatory, radical, and visionary broadband summit I've ever been to. I'm proud to be part of a community that supports our Peoples and I'm already using the ICS Calls to Action in my work advocating for internet connectivity in my homelands in Alaska."
Brittany Woods-Orrison, Alaska Public Interest Research Group / Native Movement

Case Study - North End Connect

The Indigenous Connectivity Summit supports practical solutions to connect Indigenous communities. This year we were joined by Shelley Anderson from Indigenous Vision for the North End and Joel Templeman from the Internet Society Manitoba Chapter who updated attendees on their plans to build a community network to serve residents living in Winnipeg’s North End.

Watch their presentation:

While connectivity is a challenge in remote and rural communities, many people living in towns and cities also struggle with access to reliable, affordable broadband. This is true for the North End Neighborhood which is home to the largest urban Indigenous population in Canada.

There is a deep digital divide in the city, with residents living in Winnipeg’s North End having fewer opportunities to benefit from digital technology. Service is expensive, slow, and unreliable. Most families live without internet access at home and many businesses struggle with the cost for the connectivity they need.

This is just the latest chapter in a long story of under-investment and disenfranchisement in the North End. The digital exclusion of this Indigenous-majority neighborhood is exacerbating a cycle of economic and political neglect in the area.

To help change this story, a coalition of community-based organizations including Indigenous Vision for the North End, the Internet Society Manitoba Chapter, Computers for Schools Manitoba, Broadband Communications North, and the Manitoba Research Alliance have formed ‘North End Connect’ to build a fast, affordable internet network to serve the community.

This project is engaging deeply with the community to fully understand their digital needs — building a solution with, and not just for, residents. This includes hiring Indigenous research assistants to conduct a wide consultation with residents to understand what they want and how to address the full range of barriers that prevent people from getting online and using the internet.

Equipped with this knowledge, the group plans to deploy a fixed wireless network in 2023, using transmitters stationed on the top of public buildings in the North End. This service will be fast, reliable, and provided free of charge to residents in low-income housing units.

Once built, families in the North End will have the internet they need to work, learn, and play — just like the rest of the city. Beyond infrastructure, North End Connect is also working to remove other digital barriers like cost, device access, local tech support, and digital literacy so that internet access really is for everyone.

This is a community that is building solutions to digital equity on their terms.

To find out about supporting the North End Connect project, visit the project website and contact: joel.templeman@internetsocietymanitoba.ca.

Summit Sponsorship

We are grateful for the generosity of the sponsors who made this event happen.

To support the 2023 Indigenous Connectivity Summit, please get in touch: indigenous@connecthumanity.fund

2022 GOLD SPONSORS

2022 SILVER SPONSORS

2022 BRONZE SPONSORS

Competitive Network Operators of Canada

CANARIE

Calix

OneWeb

ICANN

American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN)

Media Partners

The Wire Report

The Hill Times

Indigenous Connectivity Summit 2022 was hosted by the Indigenous Connectivity Institute and co-organized with Connect Humanity and the Internet Society.