Expanded internet access is coming to the Osage Nation.
Chief Jeffrey Standing Bear and other members of the Osage leadership joined Pawhuska on Monday, along with senior advisers to President Biden. They ceremonially broke ground for new broadband internet lines and his WiFi tower.
The tribal nation received more than $40 million in federal grants to provide broadband connectivity to its residents.
“This is absolutely a fairness issue and a civil rights issue,” said Tom Perez, current White House senior adviser and former Labor Secretary. “If you look at the history of exclusion in this country, tribal communities have too often been left in the lurch.”
Talley Redcorn, who works for the tribal nation, said the lack of broadband is impacting businesses in the area. People don’t want to set up shop in areas with slow speeds.
“That’s a big factor,” Redcorn said.
Osage Nation Health Authority (ONHA) Deputy Commissioner Michael Bristow said the slowness was especially felt during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many Osage residents lacked access to telehealth. .
“Healthcare software comes with security requirements,” Bristow says. “Everything has to be encrypted, and of course the files are even bigger, but with broadband Internet you can transfer much more files than with current systems.”
The federal investment will help install 200 miles of fiber optic cable and build 16 fixed Wi-Fi towers. The project will connect 3,000 households in the tribal nation, according to a press release.
