Expanding Digital Skills in Pueblo of Jemez, N.M.

Brown: Native communities in remote areas can experience difficulties in accessing technology, as many Native reservations can lack the infrastructure required to connect to the internet. Hello. I'm Dara Brown. This is Getting Connected powered by Comcast Newsmakers. We're here today at the Net Inclusion 2024 conference in Philadelphia. We acknowledge we stand on the ancestral lands of the Lenape Peoples, also known as the Lenni Lenape. Joining me to talk about building the necessary infrastructure to get Native communities connected is Angela Diahkah, Network Operations Supervisor at Jemez Pueblo Tribal Network. Angela, thank you so much for being here.

Diahkah: You're welcome.

Brown: Angela, you have an IT background, but now you're providing digital access. Can you tell me your story?

Diahkah: Yes, I've actually been in the IT field for over 20 years. And due to COVID, it was life changing, so I am actually a installer now for our Jemez Pueblo Tribal Network. We're doing installations for our community.

Brown: Angela, tell me about the connectivity you have at the reservation.

Diahkah: The connectivity at home actually is okay but it would be nice if we had high-speed internet. We are still considered underly served, the speeds of 25 megabits download and four upload. Our ultimate goal would be fiber to the home, which would allow people to work from home and allow the kids to go to school.

Brown: And tell me, what has the impact been of your organization bringing in broadband access.

Diahkah: The impact is great. A lot of community members are actually enjoying what we are doing, the fact that we're bringing internet to the community. Because we do have other providers that are not reliable, but now we actually have internet that's going to every single home and it's free of charge.

Brown: Talk about your digital navigators. How many people are they reaching?

Diahkah: The digital navigators out there, the outreach is a little bit difficult because sometimes a lot of people doesn't respond to our ads or anything that we may have online. So what we have been doing is we basically go to our tribal employees, the ones that don't have a lot of time in front of a computer. So let's say your custodians or some of the field workers. And we approach them and ask them, "Hey, would you be interested in doing some digital literacy courses?" And through that, we started a pilot program and we've had five people that have graduated so far. On top of that, they're able to take some of their devices home.

Brown: Angela Diahkah, thank you so much for your time, today.

Diahkah: You're welcome.

Brown: And thanks to you, as well, for watching. For more conversations about digital equity and broadband expansion, visit GettingConnected.com. I'm Dara Brown. ♪♪ ♪♪