[Table, THE CHICKASAW NATION: Investing in Community]. (2024)

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National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (US) Office on Smoking and Health. Community Health and Economic Prosperity: Engaging Businesses as Stewards and Stakeholders—A Report of the Surgeon General [Internet]. Washington (DC): US Department of Health and Human Services; 2021 Jan.

Community Health and Economic Prosperity: Engaging Businesses as Stewards and Stakeholders—A Report of the Surgeon General [Internet].

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Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma

	Community Challenge \| Imagine living in an area described as a severely distressed census tract—meaning few jobs, plenty of high school dropouts, poor housing options, high rates of incarceration, large swaths of prime-age adults not working, and a poverty rate greater than 31%. The struggle to achieve a satisfactory quality of life can be overwhelming in such a place. Now, imagine being a part of the Chickasaw Nation, which has made extraordinary progress to lift its people out of poverty and improve opportunities in severely distressed communities. Leaders of the Chickasaw Nation have created businesses to support the tribal government and offer opportunities to tribal citizens and community members. Despite such success, the lack of broadband Internet access limits opportunities for members of the Chickasaw Nation and the larger community.
	Scenario \| As a sovereign nation, the Chickasaw Nation has built a broad portfolio of businesses to generate revenues that support tribal programs and services. These economic development efforts have accelerated dramatically under the leadership of Bill Anoatubby, governor of the Chickasaw Nation since 1987, with the development of a number of businesses across several industries, including technology, entertainment, hospitality, media, and health. With a reliable revenue stream, the Chickasaw Nation began to diversify its business and social program portfolios. However, strengthening economic development, education, and healthcare throughout the Chickasaw Nation depended on reliable broadband Internet connectivity.
	Action Taken \| More than 60% of people who live in the Chickasaw Nation’s 13-county service area in Oklahoma did not have access to broadband Internet service. Recognizing the need to address the poor infrastructure for quality Internet service, the Chickasaw Nation Secretary of Commerce, Bill Lance, requested $14–$20 million from Governor Anoatubby to install a 250-mile fiber optic cable that would encircle the Chickasaw Nation’s territorial boundaries. “To ensure we would be able to meet demand for future generations,” the Chickasaw Nation Deputy Secretary Dakota Cole said, “the decision was made to install three pieces of conduit to supply three times our estimated long-term needs.” With the governor’s support, Trace Fiber Networks, LLC, launched in 2016. The name pays homage to Natchez Trace—a forest trail and trade route in Chickasaw’s historic homeland in Mississippi and Tennessee. With the limited liability company, the Chickasaw Nation worked with financial institutions, undertook competitive bidding for contracts, developed a team of contracting partners, and began conversations with stakeholders. The State of Oklahoma assisted with gaining rights of way and other technical aspects of the project. The Chickasaw Nation bartered with the Oklahoma Community Anchor Network, which already had 1,000 miles of high-speed fiber across Oklahoma, to swap out fiber in places with redundancies, and learned that the Federal Communication Commission had given tribal entities the right to claim, free of charge, whitespace spectrum for high-speed Internet access. As a result, the Chickasaw Nation expected to (a) provide more than 180 locations with high-speed Internet connectivity by the end of 2020 and (b) obtain a return on investment within 7 years. “This is just as much a story of equity as it is a story of connectivity. You can’t begin to level the playing field if you don’t have access to the same information,” the Chickasaw Nation Undersecretary of Technology & Innovation Commerce Chris Shilling said. “This will provide a transformative opportunity for the group of citizens and individuals in rural Oklahoma that will chip away at capital inequity and education inequity that we see across the country.”
	Key Takeaway \| For the Chickasaw Nation to succeed, its businesses have to succeed. In today’s economy, a gap in broadband services can leave people behind. Leaders of the Chickasaw Nation are determined to close that divide. “Access to broadband Internet is becoming increasingly essential … to enhance education, economic development, housing, and career opportunities of the Chickasaw people,” said Governor Anoatubby. “Enhancing these opportunities builds a foundation of prosperity that plays an important role in promoting community health.”

From: CHAPTER 5, Working With Community Changemakers

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Contents

	Community Challenge \| Imagine living in an area described as a severely distressed census tract—meaning few jobs, plenty of high school dropouts, poor housing options, high rates of incarceration, large swaths of prime-age adults not working, and a poverty rate greater than 31%. The struggle to achieve a satisfactory quality of life can be overwhelming in such a place. Now, imagine being a part of the Chickasaw Nation, which has made extraordinary progress to lift its people out of poverty and improve opportunities in severely distressed communities. Leaders of the Chickasaw Nation have created businesses to support the tribal government and offer opportunities to tribal citizens and community members. Despite such success, the lack of broadband Internet access limits opportunities for members of the Chickasaw Nation and the larger community.
	Scenario \| As a sovereign nation, the Chickasaw Nation has built a broad portfolio of businesses to generate revenues that support tribal programs and services. These economic development efforts have accelerated dramatically under the leadership of Bill Anoatubby, governor of the Chickasaw Nation since 1987, with the development of a number of businesses across several industries, including technology, entertainment, hospitality, media, and health. With a reliable revenue stream, the Chickasaw Nation began to diversify its business and social program portfolios. However, strengthening economic development, education, and healthcare throughout the Chickasaw Nation depended on reliable broadband Internet connectivity.
	Action Taken \| More than 60% of people who live in the Chickasaw Nation’s 13-county service area in Oklahoma did not have access to broadband Internet service. Recognizing the need to address the poor infrastructure for quality Internet service, the Chickasaw Nation Secretary of Commerce, Bill Lance, requested $14–$20 million from Governor Anoatubby to install a 250-mile fiber optic cable that would encircle the Chickasaw Nation’s territorial boundaries. “To ensure we would be able to meet demand for future generations,” the Chickasaw Nation Deputy Secretary Dakota Cole said, “the decision was made to install three pieces of conduit to supply three times our estimated long-term needs.” With the governor’s support, Trace Fiber Networks, LLC, launched in 2016. The name pays homage to Natchez Trace—a forest trail and trade route in Chickasaw’s historic homeland in Mississippi and Tennessee. With the limited liability company, the Chickasaw Nation worked with financial institutions, undertook competitive bidding for contracts, developed a team of contracting partners, and began conversations with stakeholders. The State of Oklahoma assisted with gaining rights of way and other technical aspects of the project. The Chickasaw Nation bartered with the Oklahoma Community Anchor Network, which already had 1,000 miles of high-speed fiber across Oklahoma, to swap out fiber in places with redundancies, and learned that the Federal Communication Commission had given tribal entities the right to claim, free of charge, whitespace spectrum for high-speed Internet access. As a result, the Chickasaw Nation expected to (a) provide more than 180 locations with high-speed Internet connectivity by the end of 2020 and (b) obtain a return on investment within 7 years. “This is just as much a story of equity as it is a story of connectivity. You can’t begin to level the playing field if you don’t have access to the same information,” the Chickasaw Nation Undersecretary of Technology & Innovation Commerce Chris Shilling said. “This will provide a transformative opportunity for the group of citizens and individuals in rural Oklahoma that will chip away at capital inequity and education inequity that we see across the country.”
	Key Takeaway \| For the Chickasaw Nation to succeed, its businesses have to succeed. In today’s economy, a gap in broadband services can leave people behind. Leaders of the Chickasaw Nation are determined to close that divide. “Access to broadband Internet is becoming increasingly essential … to enhance education, economic development, housing, and career opportunities of the Chickasaw people,” said Governor Anoatubby. “Enhancing these opportunities builds a foundation of prosperity that plays an important role in promoting community health.”