This past weekend (June 5th - 7th) I went to the White Earth Nation in Northern Minnesota to witness the Treaty People Gathering on Treaty rights and Tribal sovereignty. This event brought together more than 1,000 people from across the country to learn about Tribal sovereignty, Treaty rights, and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) surrounding the Line 3 Pipeline.

Line 3 is a pipeline that runs through North Dakota and Minnesota through to Wisconsin. It is called a replacement pipeline project because it takes an older pipeline out of commission and replaces it with a new pipeline. This replacement project, however, runs along a new route, which crosses...

As AIPI grows, I think a lot about building the next generation of leaders. I think about who will replace me and my colleagues, as well as who will do the hard work on behalf of Tribal Nations in 10 years. I think a lot about not only building on this foundation, but also scaling it. I feel a great responsibility to create a pipeline of learning and mentorship. I am grateful to ASU leadership for their support of this vision, including President Michael Crow, Vice President Bryan Brayboy; Asst. Vice President Jacob Moore; Dean Koppell, and Dean Lietz. I am grateful for funders who also support this vision including...

Congress ordered the FCC to create a broadband mapping system that empowers community members to challenge insufficient broadband access. They have not done so in “Establishing the Digital Opportunity Data Collection: Modernizing the FCC Form 477 Data Program” (April 2021) .

The current system is a map made by Internet Service Providers (ISPs), which reports where their service territory is or could easily be. ISPs report their fastest service tier that they offer in any particular area. This information is not verified by the FCC before publication, and the FCC maps have been picked apart a number of times. They offer us a best-case scenario of what Internet...

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) granted a total of $31.2 billion to Indian Country, including the agencies that serve Tribal nations. The bill was signed on March 11, 2021 and directed the U.S. Treasury to distribute $20 billion directly to Tribal governments through the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund. The legislation gave broad discretion to the Treasury by stating that, “(i) $1 billion is to be allocated equally among eligible Tribal governments and (ii) $19 billion is to be allocated to Tribal governments in a manner determined by the Secretary of the Treasury.”

The Treasury held five Tribal consultations on the distribution of...