1 in 3 Native Americans lives in poverty. For many, discriminatory energy pricing is a primary reason. Indigenized Energy Initiative is a first-of-its-kind, indigenous-led effort to empower Native American tribes to regain sovereignty by taking control of their own energy systems and deploying regenerative solar and other renewable technologies as a culturally-appropriate way to diminish energy poverty, mitigate climate change, and restore vitality, vibrancy and hope to American Indian tribes.
Over one million people reside on Indian reservations in the U.S., which are often referred to as the "Third World" of America. Disproportionately high electric rates (due to blatant discrimination by utilities) exacerbate the deep poverty and many hardships commonly experienced on American Indian reservations, especially those in the harsh climates of the Great Plains, where people often die of exposure to cold in their own homes, unable to pay their exorbitant electric heat bills.
While many tribes have upheld their covenants to protect Mother Earth, standing bravely in the path of fossil fuel development, few possess the capabilities to pursue solar development in a way that maximizes its potential for lasting impact in their communities. IEI empowers tribes to develop and deploy solar THEMSELVES, keeping 100% of the financial and ecological benefits of solar in the community, leading to a restoration of self-determination, self-reliance, and hope for Native Americans.
The overarching objective of the Initiative is to equip tribal governments with solutions that will allow them to halt the environmental degradation caused by destructive fossil-fuel mining and burning activities, and replace those activities - and associated "dirty" jobs - with the green and profitable alternatives that clean energy technologies provide. The resulting impact will be thousands of well-paying clean energy jobs for Native Americans living in the Great Plains region, and beyond.
