The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) passed a resolution last week in support of Net Neutrality and the Federal Communications Commission’s efforts to reestablish its authority to regulate the broadband industry during its mid-year General Assembly meeting in Rapid City, South Dakota.

The NCAI resolution stated that Net Neutrality “protects choice of content and equal opportunity, principles important to Native Americans across this country. As more and more Native Americans gain access to broadband, Network Neutrality assures that the Internet is a space where free speech is protected and insured.”

The resolution also warned that without Net Neutrality, the industry’s control over “websites, content, services or applications works against the democratic empowerment of the people. When industry decides who can be heard or censored, the fundamental tool of our engagement on the Internet becomes questionable, jeopardized or harmed.”

The NCAI, founded in 1944, monitors the impact of federal decisions on Tribal governments.