Starlink’s strategic vulnerability exposes geopolitical tech dependency and wartime digital sovereignty gaps

Indigenous critiques of tech dependency highlight how Starlink’s deployment in Ukraine mirrors historical patterns of resource extraction and external control. For instance, the **Māori-led Hīkina i te Whakamātau** (a Māori data sovereignty initiative) argues that reliance on corporate-controlled infrastructure replicates colonial extraction models, where external actors dictate access and terms. Similarly, the **Dene Nation’s** push for digital sovereignty in Canada—demanding control over their own broadband—offers a framework for questioning why Ukraine would cede wartime communications to a private actor with no accountability mechanisms. These perspectives reveal Starlink’s role not just as a tool, but as a modern iteration of extractive infrastructure, where the 'resource' is not minerals or land, but real-time military data flows.