As we dig into this new year, I see the seeds of opportunity bearing fruit. Just over a year ago, we had the opportunity to envision a leadership program for Indigenous people in Arizona.
Indian Country
The Indigenous Leadership Academy is thrilled to announce the co-facilitators for modules two through nine, Kris Beecher and Jolyana Begay-Kroupa. Kris is an attorney at the leading global law firm Dickinson Wright. Jolyana is currently Interim CEO of the Phoenix Indian Center. Both are heavily involved in the Phoenix American Indian community and are excited to be co-facilitating the Indigenous Leadership Academy. You can read more about the co-facilitators below.
The Indigenous Leadership Academy (ILA) is delighted to announce the facilitator and guest speaker for the first class. Dr. Angela Gonzales, who is a Thought Leaders Fellow at the American Indian Policy Institute, will be the facilitator. Monica Nuvamsa will be the first guest speaker for ILA. You can read more about the facilitator and guest speaker below.
This update summarizes the very busy last two months of the year. November and December saw AIPI participating in multiple events with our expertise in broadband and digital equity with EJ a panelist at the 39th Annual Institute on Telecommunications Policy and Regulation and H a panelist at the NASIG Virtual 2021 Conference. Dr.
Program Overview
The Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBB) is now the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The ACP replaced the EBB on December 31, 2021. An additional $14.2 billion was appropriated to the ACP to continue offering broadband service discounts and device reimbursements for qualifying households. The main changes to the program are:
During this year's Native American Heritage Month, Tribal leaders and high-level White House Officials constructed discourse with respect to issues important in Indian Country. The 2021 Tribal Nations Summit (the Summit), hosted by the White House, was held on November 15th and 16th. This is the first time the Summit has taken place since 2016.
It was a whirlwind of a month at AIPI. It is exciting when we’re able to fulfill our mission of service to Indian Country as an Indigenous-led and staffed non-teaching research institute. It is exciting to be a part of the solution.
The American Indian Policy Institute has launched the Indigenous Leadership Academy (ILA) application! The application is now live and will remain open until November 15, 2021. Click here to start the application process.
After years of advocacy, the FCC is finally taking action to make needed improvements to the The Universal Service Program for Schools and Libraries, also known as E-rate. On October 14, 2021, the FCC published a notice in the Federal Register of a proposed rule to make Tribal libraries eligible to participate in the E-rate program.