LinuxFest Northwest 2017: Bringing Internet to Oceti Sakowin
Channel: linuxfestnorthwest
Date: 2017-05-07

Before October, the only Internet at the main camp at Standing Rock, Oceti Sakowin, was via mobile phone on "Facebook Hill". Geeks Without Bounds and Red Cloud Defense Network reached out to leaders at the camp to ask if they'd like something a little more robust, and that started an adventure in culture, politics, and computer networking. This is a story of listening to the desires of the community, building compromise and consensus, wading through unfamiliar political processes, and fielding the constant emails from outside telling me that they could get internet into camp "really easy". It's also a story about Ubiquiti gear, Linksys routers, Baufeng radios, and renewable power. Oh, and a book, with a dog on the cover, that flew to Tanzania.

This is a talk that straddles both the human side of things and infrastructure. The technical side is not too deep, so it is good for any technical level.