Viasat Joins Native America Catalyst to Strengthen Connectivity Across First Nations Communities

IRVINE, CA, UNITED STATES, August 10, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Hangar 75 is pleased to announce its collaboration with Viasat on the recently launched Native America Catalyst, a multi-year initiative developed in partnership with Kiva Capital Group to strengthen coordination, accelerate momentum, and drive execution across opportunities in Native American lands.

The Native America Catalyst was created to align capital, partners, and operational capabilities around the most pressing challenges shaping Indigenous communities. It provides a structured environment in which tribal nations, investors, corporations, policymakers, and operators can engage in opportunities across infrastructure, healthcare, education, financial access, and long-term economic development.

Within that work, connectivity has emerged as one of the most critical enabling layers.

For many First Nations communities, particularly those in remote or underserved locations, the absence of affordable, reliable connectivity continues to limit access to essential services and economic participation. Healthcare becomes harder to reach. Educational opportunities are more limited. Financial services remain out of reach or difficult to access. Community infrastructure struggles to modernize at the pace required. In many cases, the challenge is not a lack of ambition or need, but a lack of the digital foundation necessary to support meaningful progress.

This is where Viasat’s role becomes particularly important.

Through its connectivity capabilities, Viasat offers a practical and much-needed solution for the evolving Catalyst environment. Its participation strengthens multiple categories across the program, helping ensure that connectivity is not treated as a secondary issue, but as a core enabler of how communities access services, strengthen resilience, and participate more fully in the digital economy.

Viasat’s participation therefore introduces a capability that directly addresses some of the most persistent and consequential barriers facing First Nations communities today.

The Native America Catalyst itself has been developed as a collaboration between Hangar 75 and Kiva Capital Group. Kiva Capital Group is committed to helping orchestrate the scale of funding required to create meaningful impact across First Nations communities globally, while Hangar 75 provides the stakeholder environment through which opportunities can be surfaced, structured, and advanced.

Together, the model is intended to reduce fragmentation and improve the connection between need, capability, and execution.

As stakeholders participate in the Catalyst, opportunities become clearer, alignment strengthens, and the barriers preventing forward movement become easier to see and address. By bringing Viasat into this environment, the initiative gains a strategic connectivity partner whose role is materially linked to success across multiple program categories.

This matters because connectivity is not simply a technical consideration – it is foundational infrastructure. Its absence reinforces exclusion, its affordability, and reliability unlock participation across healthcare, education, financial systems, and community development.

Ian Wilding, CEO of Hangar 75, added:

“The Native America Catalyst is about more than surfacing ideas. It is about connecting real community needs to the partners and capabilities required to move them forward. Viasat brings an important part of that capability into the environment, particularly where connectivity is the difference between exclusion and participation.”

Joe Herrera Jr., CEO of Kiva Capital Group, said:

“Many of the opportunities across First Nations communities depend on having the right enabling infrastructure in place. Connectivity is one of the clearest examples. Bringing together capital, partners, and capability in a coordinated way is exactly how progress becomes more practical and more scalable.”

Wayne Parrish, Head of U.S. Sales, Viasat, said:

“Viasat is a global technology company transforming what’s possible through connectivity. For communities, connectivity is the foundation for expanding healthcare access, extending education, strengthening financial inclusion, and enabling long-term economic participation.
We are honored to collaborate with the Native America Catalyst, alongside Hangar 75 and Kiva Capital Group, to help bring reliable, affordable connectivity to Native American lands. We believe every connection is an opportunity—and we’re committed to unlocking its full potential by working hand in hand with partners and communities.”

As the Native America Catalyst continues to develop, the ability to align funding, infrastructure, and operating partners around community priorities will remain central to how effectively opportunities are realized. The collaboration with Viasat strengthens that pathway, bringing a critical connectivity capability into an initiative designed to help First Nations communities access the services, infrastructure, and opportunities required for long-term growth.

Ian Wilding
Hangar 75 LLC
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