As we celebrate Native American Heritage Month, Multiplying Good is honored to recognize the work of MuralNet and their founders, this year's Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Award for Outstanding Public Service Benefiting Local Communities Jefferson Award Recipients Martin Casado and Mariel Triggs.
MuralNet, the Oakland-based organization, has brought reliable high-speed internet to more than a third of tribal lands nationwide with little to no connectivity as well as successfully lobbied the FCC to allow tribes to obtain their own broadband licenses.
They have worked with Tribes to build dozens of pilot and expansion internet networks so far at a fraction of the cost of building a new cell tower. They also assisted Tribes in aquiring spectrum licenses that can bring broadband to 750,000 people on Tribal lands across the nation.
The pair is also training tribal leaders at each build site, so they can operate and maintain their new high-speed internet networks. This life-changing connectivity allows teenagers to learn online at home, emergency services to communicate in real-time, and patients to access telemedicine.
MuralNet is a perfect example of how through service to others can in turn provide access and opportunties to those who need it most. Service is also about coming together for good and the idea that any individual can help shape the world we want for our children. As we celebrate Native American Hertitage Month, we remember and celebrate those who continue to provide equitable opportunties to all tribes across the United States.