Native Americans Angered at AT&T's Proposed Cell Tower on "The Hill of Vision"

Press Release being sent out today to local and national media: 

AT&T’s request to New Hampshire's Stoddard Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) for a Special Exception to construct a 150-foot cell phone tower has stirred the ire of the Santee Dakota Sioux, headquartered in Flandreau, S.D.

The proposed cell tower would loom over Stoddard’s pristine Granite Lake community atop Melville Hill, once owned by renowned Native American Dr. Charles Eastman (1858-1939) and named by him “The Hill of Vision.” Eastman’s daughter Irene, a victim of an influenza epidemic that swept the area in 1918, is buried on the hill.

Spearheading opposition to the tower is Nelson, NH resident and history buff John Cucchi, who owns Granite Lake Cottages across the lake from the proposed tower. 

“This whole area—and especially the land once owned by Dr. Eastman—is a national historic treasure,” he says. Cucchi has applied to the FCC to intervene in the local ZBA proceedings, adding he believes AT&T is attempting “to bully the ZBA members into granting their proposal” with threats of lawsuits should they deny the Special Exception.  “AT&T has shown no respect or sensitivity towards our area and what the Santee Dakota Sioux consider a spiritual place, sacred ground.”

Eastman, who graduated from Dartmouth College and obtained his MD degree from Boston University, where he was recently honored with a posthumous Humanitarian Award, is internationally recognized as one of the most prominent Native Americans in U.S. history. A co-founder of the Boy Scouts of America, he established guidelines for the organization based on Native American practices.

He also helped found the Campfire Girls and subsequently moved to New Hampshire, where he opened Camp Oahe for girls. The camp was operated by the Eastman family and located on the shores of Granite Lake, where he had his home at the base of “The Hill of Vision.”

Eastman was also instrumental in opening 32 Native American chapters of the YMCA and last year was inducted into the YMCA Hall of Fame. He wrote prolifically, penning 11 books on Native American lore in addition to numerous articles for magazines, reviews, and encyclopedias; went to Washington as legal representative and lobbyist for the Sioux Tribe; served as government physician to the Sioux in South Dakota; and lectured worldwide on Native American culture.

Because of intervention by the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources and the FCC, AT&T will conduct a balloon test on “The Hill of Vision” on  Thursday, May 5 between the hours of 9 a.m. and noon.  Large, colored balloons will be flown to indicate visually the height of the  proposed cell tower site.  (In case of inclement weather, the balloon test will occur on May 6.) 

May 5 is also the date of the next ZBA cell tower hearing, which will begin at 7 p.m. at the Stoddard Town Hall.

Travelling to N.H. for these proceedings is Santee Dakota Sioux Tribal Council member Frank Johnson, who is a cultural anthropologist and works with the FCC on Native American issues.  Also travelling to N.H. from S.D. is Emmett Eastman, the great-nephew of Dr. Charles Eastman.