The Institute of Local Self Reliance (ILSR) has been tracking Indigenous Broadband Networks in the US. They provide a great history and analysis of broadband in tribal areas. (The Blandin Foundation has supported Native networks in Minnesota.) ILSR tracks five active networks, one expected and one prospective in Minnesota:

Bois Forte Band of Chippewa
Network Name: Bois Forte Band of Chippewa
Status: Active
Technology: Fiber-to-the-Home
Website: https://www.goctc.com/boisforte/

The Bois Forte Band of Chippewa have been working on building a fiber-to-the-home network in conjunction with CTC Communications, a local cooperative, for a number of years. The partnership calls for CTC Communications to manage the operations of the network for a period of time before handing off management to the Tribe. The construction project has been fueled by grants first from the Department of Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Community, and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development before getting a significant infusion from the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program. Communities like Nett Lake, Palmquist, and Indian Point were lit up first in 2023, and construction continues in Vermillion, Orr, and Pelican Lake among other areas on and surrounding the Bois Forte Band’s Tribal lands. When completed, the network will pass more than 3500 households and include nearly four hundred miles of fiber optic cable.

Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Network Name: Aaniin
Status: Active
Technology: Fiber-to-the-Home
Additional Services: Additional Services, Video Service
Website: http://www.aaniin.net/
Fond du Lac Communications, doing business under the name Aaniin, offers fiber-to-the-home service throughout the Tribal lands of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Plans for a network began in the mid 2000s and grew and evolved over time. After first considering a wireless solution, the Tribe built an Institutional network, then deployed hotspots to residents before finally winning a grant to build a fiber-to-the-home network. The build was supported by grants from the US Department of Agriculture’s Community Connect Program, Minnesota’s Border-to-Border broadband program, and HUD Indian Community Development Block Grants as well as a significant investment from the Tribal government. Network construction began in 2017 with the first subscribers coming online in 2019. The network currently serves about twelve hundred subscribers.

Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
Network Name: Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
Status: Expected
The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe won a Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program grant in early 2023 to build a hybrid fiber and fixed wireless network. The Tribe had been working for nearly two years on the plans of the network and has convened a broadband task force to guide the initiative. Planning and deployment of the network have begun, with environmental studies already underway.

Lower Sioux Indian Community
Network Name: Lower Sioux Indian Community
Status: Prospective
The Lower Sioux Indian Community received a Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program grant to install fiber-to-the-home on Tribal lands. Reporting suggests that the Tribe has partnered with a company to develop the project, but ownership over the network assets remains unclear.

Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
Network Name: Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
Status: Active
Technology: Fiber
Some time ago, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe installed a small fiber Institutional network, with the Tribe leasing bandwidth from a local ISP. Since 2021, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe has been exploring other options to bring better connectivity to the Reservation. A Tribally-owned entity, Mille Lacs Corporate Venture, began a partnership that year with cooperative Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC). In 2023, the Tribe was awarded a Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program grant to help support the construction of a Tribally-owned fiber-to-the-home network that will be operated by CTC.

Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota
Network Name: Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community
Status: Active
Technology: Fiber-to-the-Home
The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community began planning a fiber-to-the-home network in 2013 and started building the network two years later. The network now provides FTTH services to every resident of the community. The Tribe has also been instrumental in supporting community broadband initiatives elsewhere, providing grants to other Tribes working on building Internet infrastructure and partnering with the surrounding county to support mutually beneficial fiber build-outs.

Upper Sioux Community
Network Name: Upper Sioux Telecommunications
Status: Active
Technology: Fiber-to-the-Home
Website: https://www.uppersiouxcommunity-nsn.gov/telecommunications
The Upper Sioux Community finished building a fiber-to-the-home network to bring the Internet to the community in 2007. The project was completed in stages beginning in 2005 after the Tribe recognized the severe lack of reliable, high-speed Internet under an incumbent provider. The network is operated as USC Communications, which continues to offer Internet and other services to residents of the community.