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Digital literacy research and practice typically presume certain conditions, such as an urban orientation and adequate, affordable access to connectivity and devices. But these conditions are not universal; for example, people in small, rural/remote Indigenous communities may seek to balance connectivity challenges and digital innovations with land-based living specific to place and community. Drawing on efforts to broaden critical digital literacies to support Indigenous sovereignty, we consider how overlapping contexts of places, communities, and infrastructures intersect in the cocreation of appropriate digital literacy. Specifically, we discuss a series of virtually facilitated, participatory workshops that utilize "hacker literacies" and "infrastructure literacy" to reimagine connectivity infrastructure and demonstrate the potential of community networking in, with, and by rural/remote Indigenous communities. We also reflect on limitations of this work and identify lessons for future projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shaping digital inclusion policy and practice to meet community‐defined goals requires more than access to digital devices and connectivity; it must also enable their effective design and use in local settings. For the Nation of Hawaiʻi, a Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) organization with a land base on the island of Oahu, these activities are closely associated with broader goals of nation‐building and sovereignty. In this article, we document how the Nation of Hawaiʻi is conceptualiz‐ ing its community networking project as an example of an Indigenous organization’s efforts to frame community networks as a means to generate a “sovereignty mindset” among its members, as well as share resources and experience among community members and with other communities in Hawaiʻi and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this thematic issue, we present research from authors who seek to contest, challenge, and reimagine what digital inclusion is and what it might be. Authors present work from understudied vantage points and “hard to reach” terrains, such as communities that remain geographically, technically, socially, economically, and metaphorically “disconnected”— sometimes by choice. Through their attention to the role of intangible factors like relationality, social capital, emotion, sovereignty, and liminality, the articles collectively push against and expand the boundaries of digital inclusion research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, access to adequate, affordable, reliable broadband has become essential to many aspects of modern life. However, while urban centers in Canada already benefit from high-speed broadband services, many rural/remote and Northern communities face increasingly concentrated spaces of exclusion associated with digital divides. Inequalities in broadband services in Northern Canada have long been recognized by the federal government, which has initiated policies, regulations and funding programs to support the deployment of better connectivity infrastructure and services. Historically, many of these initiatives reflect a top-down approach that fails to consider the diversity of the communities and regions they are designed to support. Here, we focus on a case study of a policy consultation held by the national telecommunications regulator in an effort to learn current issues and challenges in the North. Consistent with existing research, our findings revealed that the most frequently reported challenges are the high cost of access, slow speeds, and limited competition. We also point out fewer submissions from smaller rural communities and argue that policymakers and researchers should pay closer attention to place-based challenges identified in different types of communities, and adopt more precise engagement tools and processes to encourage input from community members. • Long-standing digital inequalities persist in many rural/remote areas in Canada. • The telecommunications regulator launched a public consultation in North Canada. • We investigated the prevalence and focus of submissions from Northern residents. • There are distinctions between submissions from urban and rural communities. • More tailored policies can help reduce the social exclusion of rural communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Canada, residents of rural, remote and Northern communities generally pay more for slower, less reliable, and more expensive telecommunications services compared to southern and urban residents. This situation is particularly concentrated in small-population, rural Indigenous communities located in the Northern territories. Over the last several decades, many public policy initiatives have attempted to develop telecommunications services, including high-speed broadband, in these underserved areas. However, Northern input into these initiatives and their outcomes has been limited — despite increasing evidence of the benefits of place-based planning, monitoring and evaluation processes. In this context we examine a recent public consultation about telecommunication services in these regions, focusing on expectations submitted by individual Northerners and by intermediary organizations representing their interests. Our analysis reveals distinct but complementary functions expressed by these different kinds of intervenors, which we suggest policymakers could take into consideration when planning consultations involving rural and remote regions. • The telecommunications regulator launched a public consultation in Northern Canada. • We explored individual and intermediary organizations' reported expectations. • Individual contributions are limited but include evidence to measure digital divides. • Organizations complemented this information and highlighted specific policy reforms. • The contributions reflect differing approaches to policy development and evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous peoples interact with the emergent network society in diverse ways that reflect the colonialism/self-determination dialectic. One area where this process unfolds is in the bridging of digital divides. I use the concept of the First Mile to show how First Nations and Inuit peoples in Canada’s geographic periphery are asserting their self-determination in the sphere of digital ICTs. While most digital divide literature presumes that a connection to the network society is inherently beneficial, when framed in the context of historic and ongoing processes of colonialism, integration alone is not adequate. An example of a not-for-profit satellite network cooperative demonstrates how three Indigenous organizations shaped the problem of the digital divide into an opportunity to establish a platform for digital self-determination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]