Provide 10 Solar Heaters to Native Families

Henry Red Cloud, Trees, Water & People's Tribal Renewable Energy Program partner, was recently featured in Indian Country Today. The feature story, titled “The Renewable Energy Revolution,” highlights Henry’s efforts to bring renewable energy and green jobs to tribal lands of the United States.

“My biggest dream is for First Nations communities to be energy independent before mainstream America.” – Henry Red Cloud

Henry Red Cloud owns and operates Lakota Solar Enterprises (LSE), one of the nation’s first Native American-owned and operated renewable energy companies. In partnership with Henry and LSE, Trees, Water & People’s Tribal Program has built and installed more than 800 solar heating systems for families living on tribal lands across the country. In addition, TWP and Henry train Native Americans in a wide variety of renewable energy applications, including solar, wind, geothermal, and sustainable building. Together, TWP and Henry also co-manage the Red Cloud Renewable Energy Center (RCREC) on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. RCREC is a place where tribes from around the country receive hands-on training in renewable energy applications from fellow Native Americans.

Click here to read the full Indian Country Today article!

Links:

• Indian Country Today article

The Eastern Shoshone Tribe’s "477 Employment and Training Program" sent three Solar Warriors to the Red Cloud Renewable Energy Center at the end of October to be trained on building and installing solar heaters.

As part of their training, Trees, Water & People, with the help of donors like you, paid for three new heaters, installed on the homes of families living on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota as part of the hands-on training portion of the course. Each heater will keep over 27 metric tons out of the atmosphere over its 20 year lifespan in addition to saving a low-income Lakota family in Kyle, SD precious utility money.

The Eastern Shoshone tribe also purchased 25 solar air heaters from our partner, Lakota Solar Enterprises. The mission of the tribe's 477 Program is to help unemployed tribal members find work that benefits the entire community. In this case, the tribe is not only employing these three new Solar Warriors, but also providing clean, free heat for 25 elderly and disabled Eastern Shoshone living on the Wind River Reservation. Congrats, Solar Warriors!

In addition, Henry Red Cloud, Trees, Water & People’s partner in operating the Red Cloud Renewable Energy Center, spent last week in Fort Washakie, WY, conducting site visits with the students. I arrived to the reservation just in time to shake the hands of these new green job recipients, Chris Tiger, Richard Bearing, and Michael Timbana. Michael told me that he wants to start his own solar business to help his tribe, and I hope we can help him do that! Richard, who is actually a Northern Arapaho, married to an Eastern Shoshone woman, was unemployed and says of his time with Henry, “It has had a great impact [on my life]. I learned a lot and met some new people that I now call friends. I also have a new job.”

Thanks to the 477 Program for creating these opportunities on your beautiful and historic reservation and congrats to the new Trainees for all they have accomplished.

And, most importantly, thank you to every person that has donated to this project, bringing us one step closer to reaching our goal of building 10 solar heaters for Native American families in need of heat.

Links:

• Trees, Water & People Website
• Tribal Renewable Energy Program