MISSION — The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation received another $25,000 toward its goal of expanding high-speed internet on the reservation.

In a press release, the CTUIR announced it was awarded $25,000 from the Colorado-based First Nations Development Institute to build two wireless towers that will connect to tribes’ fiber optic network

“Reliable internet has always been a goal of the Tribe. Building out this infrastructure is important for all of our reservation,” CTUIR Board of Trustees Chair Kat Brigham said in a statement. “The pandemic helped us realize it is a vital utility and should be available to everyone.”

The tribes laid down more than 7 miles of fiber optic cable in 2020 as a part of the first phase of its Tribal Broadband Project, securing a license from the Federal Communications Commission to operate a wireless system. The tribes also obtained more than a thousand internet addresses, which will allow the CTUIR to operate as its own internet service provider.