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16 communities across Cherokee Nation reservation to get reliable internet, cell coverage by 2026

Pink skies behind cell tower
Steven Van Elk
/
Unsplash
Pink skies behind cell tower

The Cherokee Nation will bring high-speed internet and cell service to more than 6,000 homes in northeast Oklahoma through the Cherokee Connect Broadband Initiative.

Sixteen communities across the Cherokee reservation can expect high-speed, reliable internet and cell coverage by the summer of 2026. Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said the communities receiving these cell towers are where many Cherokee families settled after the forced removal.

“The United States had suppressed the ability of the Cherokee Nation to do what the people wanted us to do, which is to invest, make progress,” Houskin Jr. said during the Cherokee Connect Broadband Initiative signing celebration. “It was policies of the government of the United States that put us in that situation.”

Hoskin Jr. and Deputy Chief Bryan Warner signed this broadband legislation on Wednesday in Stilwell, near the site of a future cell tower.

Hoskin Jr. said there was no push from the private sector to make a change. So, the Cherokee Nation went for it when they had the resources.

“If you have that hard infrastructure like a cell tower, then you got an opportunity to make sure these communities — that were in the 20th century left behind—aren’t left behind in the 21st century even as we adopt new technologies,” Hoskin Jr. said in an interview provided by the Cherokee Nation.

The funding comes from a $34 million federal grant, known as the National Telecommunications Connectivity Program, allowing 15 communication towers to be installed. The Cherokee Nation “also expects to invest another $11 million from its Respond, Recover and Rebuild program into its broadband efforts,” according to a press release from the tribe.

The impacted communities are:

  • Belfonte
  • Bell and CC Camp
  • Brent
  • Brushy
  • Chewey
  • Christie
  • Dry Creek
  • Eucha
  • Greasy
  • Marble City
  • Oak Hill-Piney
  • Oaks
  • Proctor
  • Tailholt
  • Vian

Hoskin Jr. noted that one reason the legislation had to be signed was that some of the properties had restricted status, which required arrangements with the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

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Sarah Liese (Twilla) reports on Indigenous Affairs for KOSU.
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