{"id":11062,"date":"2021-05-04T13:44:38","date_gmt":"2021-05-04T17:44:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=11062"},"modified":"2021-05-04T13:44:38","modified_gmt":"2021-05-04T17:44:38","slug":"cronkite-news-indian-country-addresses-infrastructure-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/05\/04\/cronkite-news-indian-country-addresses-infrastructure-needs\/","title":{"rendered":"Cronkite News: Indian Country addresses infrastructure needs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\n\t\t\tInfrastructure in Indigenous Communities: Priorities for American Jobs Plan\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
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Thanks to decades of federal neglect, many Native American communities lack broadband internet access, well-maintained roads, accessible utilities and adequa…<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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House Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States: Infrastructure in Indigenous Communities: Priorities for American Jobs Plan<\/a> (April 21, 2021)\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n
Tribal officials outline infrastructure gap \u2018big as the Grand Canyon\u2019<\/div>\r\n
Tuesday, May 4, 2021<\/div>\r\n
By Sarah Oven<\/div>\r\n
Cronkite News<\/DIV>\r\n
cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A><\/DIV>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nWASHINGTON – Tribes face a digital divide “as big as the Grand Canyon” and a “not even quantifiable” lack of utility access, just two of the problems outlined at a House hearing last month on infrastructure needs in Indian Country.

<\/p>\r\nWitnesses at the House Natural Resources subcommittee hearing<\/a> cited statistics that depict a bleak picture of infrastructure on reservations, including water and electricity, and said that even those numbers were likely overly optimistic.

<\/p>\r\nThey urged the largely sympathetic subcommittee members to ensure that Native Americans are not left behind again in funding under the American Jobs Plan, the Biden administration’s $2.2 trillion infrastructure proposal.

<\/p>\r\n“It’s time for America to support the Navajo Nation and all Indigenous communities and invest in utility infrastructure,” said Walter Haase, general manager of the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority.

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