The swinomish reservation (reservation) is located on fidalgo island in western washington state, roughly an hour south of the canadian border

Situated next to the swinomish channel, salmon fishing and shellfish harvesting continue to contribute to the economy and well-being of the tribe, as IT has for time immemorial. The reservation is entirely rural, and most services are found outside the boundaries of the reservation in the town of LA conner, across the swinomish channel, or the city of mount vernon, which is approximately 20 minutes to the east. Because of its rural location and low population density, many parts of the reservation have limited, or no access, to broadband internet. For these areas, satellite may be the only option available. In areas where broadband is accessible, recurring outages make accessing the internet challenging, particularly in fall and early winter. The reservation is densely blanketed with old and middle growth forest. Satellite internet is often impeded because residents dont have line-of-sight on forested properties. The dense ground vegetation and forests have also provided a deterrent to private broadband service providers completing a fiber optic buildout on the reservation due to the high cost per BSL passed. Many tribal members are also not able to afford the monthly recurring costs of broadband internet access. These challenges result in tribal members struggling to access services, often only available online and unable to take advantage of economic opportunities. During the height of the covid-19 pandemic, the tribe witnessed firsthand how difficult IT was for residents on the reservation to connect digitally. The vast number of people who used the tribal WI-FI hotspots during the pandemic spoke to the severity of the problem. To quantify these observations, the tribe administered a survey of residents on the reservation regarding their current internet service. The survey was sent in mid-august 2021 and garnered 578 responses. Fifty-one percent of respondents said they struggled with unstable connections, and 44% of all respondents said they struggled with slow connections. When asked what prevented residents from having better internet services at their home, 56% said there were no other service providers available, and 19% of all respondents and 32% of tribal member respondents listed cost as the prohibiting factor. For those who had no internet service at all, 67% said IT was due to cost, and 33% said IT was due to unavailability. Although the survey was distributed in 2021, this situation has not changed and residents continue to lack access to affordable, high-speed broadband.