From June 22–24, Tribal leaders, broadband operators, technology innovators, policymakers, and our Tribal Ready, PBC team will gather in Prior Lake, Minnesota, for the National Tribal Telecommunications Association (NTTA) Regional Tribal Broadband Summit.

For years, the focus has rightly been on connectivity. Tribal Nations have worked tirelessly to expand broadband access, strengthen digital infrastructure, and create opportunities for their communities. Those investments are laying the foundation for something larger.

The next question is not simply how Tribal Nations connect to the digital economy. It is how Tribal Nations participate in it on their own terms.

Continuing the Conversation at a Defining Moment

Across Indian Country, the conversation around Tribal Digital Sovereignty is becoming more focused, more practical, and more urgent.

At Tribal Ready, we’re attending the U.S. Indigenous Data Sovereignty & Governance Summit 2026 because this is where many of those conversations are taking place among policymakers, researchers, Tribal leaders, business professionals, and advocates among others, who are actively shaping what comes next.

This moment is not theoretical. It is operational.

At the NTTA 2026 Tribal Broadband National Summit, the conversation is moving beyond broadband.

Deployment is happening, and networks are being built. At the same time, something equally important is taking shape…decisions about what comes next.

From Deployment to Ownership

As infrastructure comes online, the focus is changing. The question is no longer just how to connect communities. It is how to ensure that the next layer of digital 

The conversations happening at IGA this year aren’t just about gaming. They’re about what comes next.

For years, gaming has been the economic engine. It created independence, funded programs, and strengthened Tribal economies. That foundation matters. But the question now is what comes after. Not as a replacement. As the next layer.

A Different Kind of Opportunity

There is a shift underway, whether it’s being discussed openly or not.

Connectivity was the first step...

For many Tribal Nations, getting there took real effort. It meant aligning leadership, securing resources, and pushing through challenges that others didn’t always see. That work created access. It opened doors. It made participation in the digital economy possible.

But connectivity alone doesn’t deliver sovereignty.

If the systems that run your government, your enterprises, and your services sit somewhere else, then the real question is simple: Who is actually in control?