Schatz Leads Indian Affairs Committee Roundtable on Spectrum for Native Communities

Press Release from the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs

WASHINGTON – Wednesday, September 21, 2022, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, led a roundtable discussion titled, “Promoting and Supporting Tribal Access to Spectrum and Related Benefits in Native Communities,” to hear from the U.S. Department of the Interior, Federal Communications Commission, Government Accountability Office, and Native leaders and experts on promoting and improving spectrum access for Native communities.

Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Chief Executive Melanie Benjamin, accompanied by Keith Modglin, Director of Information Technology, were among the panelists.

Schatz opened the roundtable by underscoring the critical role spectrum can play in providing broadband to Native communities.

“In January this year, the Committee held a roundtable to discuss the unique barriers to internet access in Native communities and explore how billions of dollars secured in Congress is helping Native communities invest in broadband infrastructure and close the digital divide. But missing from that conversation was how spectrum could be a key wireless technology for deploying broadband,” said Chairman Schatz. “For Native communities – many of which are remote and where wireline broadband can be challenging to install – increasing access to and use of spectrum could be a game changer.”

Here is a full list of panelists who participated in the roundtable discussion:

Umair Javed, Chief Counsel, Office of the Chairwoman, U.S. Federal Communications Commission, Washington, D.C.

Priscilla Delgado Argeris, Chief Legal Advisor, Office of the Chairwoman, U.S. Federal Communications Commission, Washington, D.C.

Heidi Todacheene, Senior Advisor to the Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.

Dr. Anna Maria Ortiz, Director, Natural Resources and Environment, U.S. Government Accountability Office, Washington, D.C.

Sally Moino, Assistant Director, Physical Infrastructure, U.S. Government Accountability Office, Washington, D.C.

Tyler Iopeka Gomes, Deputy to the Chairman, Department of Hawaiian Homelands, Kapolei, HawaiiI

The Honorable Melanie Benjamin, Chief Executive Officer, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indians, Onamia, Minn.

Accompanied by Keith Modglin, Director of Information Technology, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indians, Onamia, MN

Chris Cropley, Network Architect, Tidal Network, Juneau, Alaska