Tribal Resources

Tribal Liaison

The Alaska Broadband Office created the role of Tribal Liaison out of a recognition that the voices of our Alaska Native Communities, including Federally Recognized Tribes, Alaska Native Village and Regional Corporations, and regional non-profit and tribal consortiums, need to be heard during the deployment of broadband infrastructure funding. The Tribal Liaison’s main responsibility is to provide and maintain open communication on policies and address concerns of those being directly impacted by the broadband projects and programs. Our goal is for remote and rural communities to be provided with the same high-speed, reliable and affordable internet service. We cannot think of anyone better to help us make “Internet for All” a reality than the locals from each rural community and region of our great state.

Melissa Kookesh

Melissa M. Kookesh serves as the Tribal Liaison for the Alaska Broadband Office which is in the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development. Melissa was brought on to serve as the Tribal Liaison between the Alaska Broadband Office and Alaska’s 400 plus tribal entities including the 229 federally recognized Tribes, Alaska Native Regional Non-Profit Organizations and Tribal Consortiums as well as the ANCSA Village and Regional Corporations. In her role she is also responsible for continuity of collaboration with Tribal partners regarding Digital Equity and the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment. The state recognized the importance of having a Tribal Liaison to help maintain open communication on policies and to address the concerns of those being directly impacted by the broadband projects and programs.

Tribal Consultations

The Alaska Broadband Office's Tribal consultation process engages federally recognized tribes, regional non-profits and tribal consortiums, village and regional corporations. Considering the perspectives of the different Native entities combined with the Alaska Native people is the right thing to do to ensure successful broadband service can be deployed to reach the unserved and underserved populations in rural Alaska. The Alaska Broadband Office has, and continues, to hold Tribal consultation meetings and facilitate on-going communication to further the government-to-government relationship between the state and federally recognized tribes, the village and regional corporations, and the regional non-profits and tribal consortiums. Contact the Tribal Liaison for more information or to set up a meeting, Melissa Kookesh by email at melissa.kookesh@alaska.gov or by phone (907) 465-6466 or (907) 891-3666.