KENWOOD, Okla. — The chirping birds and the occasional passing car are about the only sounds heard in the small community of Kenwood, which is located about 20 minutes outside Locust Grove.
The only thing taller than its hills is its cellphone tower, which will be a year old in March 2024. Katie Smith said it has been a blessing.
"When the electricity went out, we didn’t have anything. And now since we have a cellphone tower, if you have AT&T, you’re able to use that cellphone tower," Smith said.
The Kenwood tower was the Cherokee Nation’s first foray into broadband investments. Fifteen more in communities across the reservation are on the way.
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"We’ll have the hardware there, the infrastructure there, so that these communities can not only catch up with the times but stay with the times," Cherokee Chief Chuck Hoskin said.
It is all part of an $80 million investment that will bring internet and cellular access to more than 7,000 Oklahomans. The Kenwood tower has been great for some, but others, like Raynee Nofire, can only look at it.
"I actually don’t get service off that tower. I get StraightTalk, and it doesn’t get service," Nofire said.
Hoskin said the tribe will open up bids for carriers once new towers are in place.
"We can’t have any of those conversations or explore any of that until we get this hardware invested and get this infrastructure in place," Hoskin said.
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Cell service is something many Oklahomans take for granted, but the little town of Kenwood has only had it for 11 months. Hoskin does not plan to let other communities fall behind again.
"It means that for generations for come, these same communities where language and culture is held dear, will be in place," Hoskin said, "So there’s really kind of an existential issue here for the Cherokee Nation."
Hoskin said he expects to have all the towers up and running in about two years.
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