The Oglala Sioux and Rosebud Sioux tribes will receive a total of $68 million in federal grants for high-speed internet infrastructure.
Oglala Sioux Tribal Chairman Kevin Killer said the grant is expected to connect a total of 3,347 households with wireless or fiber-to-the-home service.
“Our Tribe is in desperate need of affordable broadband on our vast, remote Pine Ridge Indian Reservation,” Killer said in a press release. “[The grant] will allow our Tribal Nation and our Citizens to thrive in the evolving digital economy and spur much-needed economic development overall on our Reservation.”
The grant comes from the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The federal money was authorized under the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Consolidated Appropriations Act.