LAME DEER — According to the 2024 Montana's Infrastructure Report Card produced by the Montana Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers, only 71% of Montanans have internet speed that meets the 100MBps download standard, whereas the national mark is 93%.
Over 20% of Montanans lack access to broadband or high-speed and reliable internet. Most in that category are people living on reservations.
A current example of a broadband desert is the Northern Cheyenne reservation, but their government is raising standards to fit into the digital age.
If you've ever driven through the Crow or Northern Cheyenne reservation, you might have noticed a lack of cell service and fast internet.
"The internet here, all we get is phone service at the tribal office or the clinic," said long-time Northern Cheyenne resident, William Wilson Jr. Smiley.
Smiley has lived on the reservation for over 40 years. He says to get fast internet, he needs to go to certain parts of Lame Deer, resulting in a feeling of disconnection from the outside world.
"I feel like a drifter, and I'm from here," he said.
Smiley is not the only Lame Deer resident who feels that way. Many others have to go to the public library to do homework or job applications.
Fortunately, the tribal government is taking the initiative to solve the problem.
"Everyone in our area, we want to be able to support with high-speed internet," said Northern Cheyenne tribal council member Nizhoni Friesz.
In 2022, the Biden Administration approved a $52.8 million grant for the reservation. The project is called the "Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program."
The project's purpose is to provide broadband to over 1,700 Northern Cheyenne households by constructing over 166 miles of wires and a new communications central communications building.
Construction for the Northern Cheyenne Communication Corporation office building and the Fiber-to-the-Premise network line is expected to begin in May and be finished by October 2026.
The new building and wire system will grant opportunities for more Native-owned businesses, as there is currently no tribal-owned network infrastructure on the reservation.
"Getting internet on the reservation, I think, is half the battle. And the other half is paying for internet service," said Debbie Desjarlais, the co-owner of Native Wellness Life Magazine.
Desjarlais grew up on the Fort Peck Reservation in northern Montana. She said the reservation has a lack of resources compared to Montana's urban communities, including broadband.
"People don't understand it until they're (on the reservation), in a place where there is no internet and your phone doesn't work," she said.
She explained the lack of internet and reliable cell service is dangerous in the digital age.
"If your car breaks down, you rely on your phone. You want to call AAA and say, 'Hey, my car broke down,' and you have no internet... It's scary," Desjarlais said.
The lack of broadband on reservations is the reason that Native Wellness Life Magazine is printed.
"I think it's great, and I hope every reservation gets the same grant," she said.
So change is coming, along with access to remote learning, Telehealth appointments, jobs for residents, and improvement of public safety.
