Spectrum Sovereignty
a collection of resources
I’ve been enthralled with the electromagnetic spectrum since I first started to understand what it is circa 2018. At the time I was working for the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs in Washington D.C., and my supervisor directed me to “figure out the digital divide”. I began attending meetings all over DC- on the Hill, at the White House (rather, in a dusty basement on the grounds of the White House), and at the Department of Interior. During this time I learned a lot about access to capital, infrastructure, and spectrum licenses. I learned that the US government auctions spectrum licenses to telecom companies via the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) which has brought in over $258 Billion since the first auction in the early 1990’s. Since then, I’ve been focusing on understanding spectrum from traditional Indigenous points of view. The electromagnetic spectrum is great for telecommunications, but it’s so much more than that; it’s X-rays, microwaves, sunlight, rainbows, and ceremony. Different Indigenous cultures have different deities over spectrum- Sun Bearer, Thunder Beings, Lightning Gods, etc. Rainbows, lightning, and the Sun have important places in Indigenous worldviews, and are all ways we experience and observe electromagnetic spectrum.
I’m not going to try to convey everything I’ve learned about spectrum in this post. But I have compiled a few of the best resources I’ve put out (or found) in the past few years doing just that. This post includes a few articles I’ve written about the legality and economics of spectrum sovereignty, and a video I made about spectrum access that’s currently (until 2025) on display at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History as part of an exhibit called Cellphone: Unseen Connections. My intention is to educate people on this issue and advocate for Indigenous peoples to have great access to, and control over their spectrum. I’m part of an international movement where Indigenous peoples globally are fighting to have their sovereignty over spectrum recognized, from the Maori in New Zealand to the Inuit in Northern Canada. My dream is for the United States government (and all colonial governments globally) to recognize the sovereignty of Indigenous peoples over their spectrum.
Have fun exploring these resources, and feel free to message me about your culture’s understanding of spectrum.
Spectrum Sovereignty Resources:
Video- Darrah's PBS feature (also on display at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History through 2025):
https://www.rmpbs.org/blogs/native-lens/advocating-for-indigenous-internet-and-spectrum-sovereignty/
Darrah's Indian Country Today article of spectrum economics:
https://ictnews.org/opinion/fcc-owes-tribes-billions-for-tribal-spectrum-sales
Maori gets 20% of NZ commercial spectrum:
https://waateanews.com/2022/02/02/maori-spectrum-entity-to-hold-20-percent-of-future-allocation/
Arizona Attorney article on spectrum rights by Darrah:
The Wire Report- Spectrum Unceded: How Indigenous people are Fighting for Digital Sovereignty in a Wireless World by Jenna Cocullo
“Assign unused wireless spectrum to Indigenous communities” by James Hobart and Cindy Woodhouse
https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/april-2022/wireless-spectrum-indigenous-communities/