GOLDEN, COLO.   – Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham announced today that the Department of Energy (DOE) plans to award $800,000 to nine Native American tribes to support the initial steps needed to develop renewable energy and energy efficiency projects on tribal lands.   Initial steps include strategic planning, energy options analysis, human capacity building and organizational development planning.

“With financial and technical support from the Department of Energy, these tribes can take the steps in developing energy resources that can lead to a stronger economy, more jobs and a better life for tribal members,” Secretary Abraham said.

Among those receiving awards are the Hopi Tribe, Kykotsmovi, Ariz.   The Hopi reservation comprises approximately 650,000 acres in northern Arizona, where the Hopi people have lived for more than a thousand years.   The reservation is rich in energy resources, including coal, solar and wind.

With DOE funding, the tribe will develop a comprehensive energy plan to encourage development of businesses providing renewable energy and energy efficiency products and services.   The tribe’s goal is to diversify their current coal-dominated economy.

Other projects to receive DOE funding include:

• Smith River Rancheria (Smith River, Calif.) – The leadership of the Smith River Rancheria, a small reservation located in northern California on the Pacific Ocean, will develop a long-term plan for energy self-sufficiency focusing on renewable energy technologies.
• Cabazon Band of Mission Indians (Indio, Calif.) – The Cabazon will undertake a strategic energy planning effort to help the Tribe achieve economic diversity and self-sufficiency, and protect the health and welfare of tribal members.   The Cabazon Band Reservation has the seventh highest electricity rates among Native American reservations. 
• Seneca Nation of Indians (Salamanca, N.Y.) – Beginning with strategic planning and evaluation of resource potential, the Seneca Nation will pursue energy efficiency improvements and development of its wind, hydro and biomass power resources.   The tribe hopes to achieve energy self-sufficiency.
• White Earth Reservation (White Earth, Minn.) – Several northern Minnesota tribes interested in building a common foundation for strategic tribal energy capacity have banded together for strategic energy resource planning.
• Citizen Potawatomi Nation (Shawnee, Okla.) – The Citizen Potawatomi Nation, ninth largest tribe in the U.S. with more than 24,000 members, will conduct strategic energy planning to develop renewable energy resources and explore energy efficiency options.
• Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma (Apache, Okla.) – The Apache Tribe will create an energy office within the tribal government to serve as a focal point for energy issues, assess the energy efficiency of tribal facilities and conduct long-range energy planning.
• Yurok Tribe (Klamath, Calif.) – The Yurok Tribe, with about 3,500 members in northern California, will conduct a study to determine the need for, and the economic feasibility of, a tribal electric power utility.
• Samish Indian Nation (Anacortes, Wash.) – The Samish Nation will develop a 10-year action plan for tribal energy projects, conduct a study of existing energy resources and develop construction techniques for the development of an energy efficient community on 80 acres of tribal land.

First Steps Toward Developing Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency on Tribal Lands (PDF)

Media Contact(s):
Tom Welch, DOE-HQ, 202-586-5806
John Horst, DOE Golden Field Office, 303-275-4709