SpaceX Provides Starlink Internet To Remote Native American Tribe

The Hoh Tribe in a remote location near Forks, WA has long struggled with access to the internet. According to the Vice Chairman of the Hoh Tribe, Melvinjohn Ashur, their internet speed was “like paddling upriver with a spoon.”

That all changed when the tribe was connected to SpaceX, whose Starlink satellite manufacturing is based in Redmond, WA.

SpaceX was founded by Elon Musk, and is the first private space company to send astronauts into space.

The Starlink Program aims to provide high-speed internet to remote locations via a satellite network. The Hoh Tribe found themselves in a tough situation during COVID-19, not having the internet bandwidth access necessary for remote learning or telemedicine.

That’s where SpaceX stepped in and brought the Hoh Tribe into their Beta Testing program.

Watch the interview with Ashue below that he is able to actually conduct via online video conference thanks to SpaceX:

The Hoh Tribe took to Twitter to express their gratitude for being provided the access to Starlink Internet which changed their lives overnight.

Elon Musk responded back.

According to the Hoh Tribe, they were previously receiving, on average, less than 1MBPS download speed prior to being given access to Starlink.