2025 Theses Master's

Beyond Access: Indigenous Sovereignty & Digital Equity in Alaska’s Broadband Future

Duncan, Steven

The research finds that while many communities turn to immediate solutions such as Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite internet, they are also building tribally owned networks, pursuing spectrum sovereignty, and developing local digital platforms to reclaim control over digital infrastructures. These Indigenous-led efforts improve service reliability, strengthen community decision-making, and lay the groundwork for long-term autonomy. Even as federal broadband funding increases, national programs often fall short by failing to address Indigenous governance needs and cultural priorities.

At this moment of historic broadband investment, these findings point to the urgent need to center Indigenous leadership in connectivity efforts. By focusing on tribal agency, this thesis presents broadband development as a matter of planning, power, and infrastructural justice. Indigenous communities are not passively awaiting connection—they are actively creating digital futures that reflect their own values, governance structures, and collective aspirations. Achieving meaningful digital equity will require a shift in policy and practice that recognizes digital sovereignty as essential to a just and inclusive connectivity future.