Saginaw Chippewa Tribe to Erect First Wind Turbine

Jodi Rave Spotted Bear

Jodi Rave Spotted Bear

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This story was filed on October 18, 2012

This fall, the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe in Michigan will erect its first wind turbine, according to an article published by Central Michigan Life on Sept. 27.

The 148-foot, commercial grade, three-bladed turbine will be hooked up to existing power lines and the grid to power greenhouses and cool and heat homes.

The project is the result of a wind feasibility study that the tribe conducted in 2004 with the U.S. Department of Energy. Originally, the turbine, to be located on Tomah Road (near the Elijah Elk Cultural Center), was to only power greenhouses, but the tribe expanded the project to include tribal housing.

The project is being coordinated through the tribe’s Housing and Planning Departments, Seventh Generation Cultural Center, the United States Department of Energy and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Tribal Housing Manager April Borton told Central Michigan Life, “We are happy to make this a reality and lower tenants’ costs.”

The tribe is approaching this project as a first phase. If it is successful, more will be built at other locations in the future.

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Jodi Rave Spotted Bear (Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation)

Founder & Editor in Chief

Jodi Rave Spotted Bear

Location: Twin Buttes, North Dakota

Spoken Languages: English

Topic Expertise: Federal trust relationship with American Indians; Indigenous issues ranging from spirituality and environment to education and land rights

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