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OST, Golden West battle over easements, rights of way, installation of new fiber optic cable shut down




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Photo 97659986 © Carsten Medom Madsen | Dreamstime.com

Photo 97659986 © Carsten Medom Madsen | Dreamstime.com

WALL – Last week Golden West sent out a letter to reservation customers stating that they had been in the process of installing new fiber optic cable to parts of the reservation but were halted by the Oglala Sioux Tribe administration even though Golden West had prior BIA land use approvals. The company goes on to say that half of their reservation customers already have access to fiber optic cable and with this delay, they may have to push current construction work to next year.

On Monday, the OST issued a statement from the OST President’s office that the Executive Board had approved of Golden West providing current service and necessary repairs as long as the company informs the tribe and gives notice about the basic area they will be working. The announcement further states that they have tried to work with Golden West, they’ve continually asked for information on the easements, rights of way and service line agreements they say they’ve secured from the BIA, neither Golden West nor the Bureau have provided any of the information requested.

“It comes down to, we are trying to be stewards of the land,” said Mike Carlow Sr., Wakpamni district tribal rep and chair of the land committee, “Golden West’s Fiber to the Home program has been stopped, we’ve asked several times where are they installing the fiber optic cable and where is their authority to operate on tribal lands, we want to facilitate maximum connectivity for our tribal members but too often we’ve had companies come in and take advantage.”

The tribe’s memo continues, we are not stopping progress but we are practicing good government by bringing policy and paperwork into the present while practicing good land stewardship as these easements give Golden West access to our land. For too long , outsiders have come to our lands to profit off of our people without respecting the dignity or sovereignty of our nation; that has to end now. The tribe hopes that Golden West will work quickly to comply with the tribe’s requests and with tribal law.

The coronavirus pandemic put incredible pressure on families, schools and tribal government to provide internet capabilities as most education on the reservation went virtual. Both the federal government and the state government have or plan to invest in broadband capability for rural areas across the country; last administration committed $1.9 million to help provide internet connectivity to many families across the reservation.

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