Affordable internet gave Native Americans a way to preserve community and culture. Now it’s another broken promise

Tucked beside the St. Lawrence River in northern New York and straddling the US-Canadian border, the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation has nurtured generations of indigenous artisans.

Tucked beside the St. Lawrence River in northern New York and straddling the US-Canadian border, the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation has nurtured generations of indigenous artisans. Kelly Back, a member of the Akwesasne Mohawk, handcrafts traditional beaded belts, hat bands, purses and sashes that many of the roughly 13,000 members of the tribe wear at weddings, graduations and other ceremonies. When she first started in 2014, Back’s artwork mainly circulated within her own tribe. But after she got on social media, her small business exploded. “My business wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for social media, because I don’t just get followers within our communities,” Back told CNN. “I get followers and customers in other communities across the world.” Back extends her global reach through Instagram videos that walk through her production process, showing how she sketches out custom designs on paper before carefully threading beads together using her loom. Back estimates she makes five figures a year from her artwork. So when the US government offered to help with the cost of her internet service with credits of up to $75 a month, she was grateful.