UTTC Tribal Summit: Working together to secure energy sovereignty

At the 20th annual UTTC Tribal Summit, tribal leaders, presenters and attendees are talking about energy. After Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Chairman Mark Fox focused his remarks on energy at the opening session, the Midwest Tribal Energy Resource Association kicked off the energy discussion during the first series of panel discussions.

MTERA director of policy and advocacy Andy Bessler said tribes need to work together now more than ever to achieve energy sovereignty. He said MTERA and the 33 tribes in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois that it partners with are pivoting with their energy development plans after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency canceled roughly $7 billion in grants nationwide this year.

MTERA lost $60 million in federal funding, and Indigenized Energy, a tribal energy coalition like MTERA that works with North Dakota and South Dakota tribes, lost $136 million, according to Bessler.

Many tribes were counting on the grant money to develop energy plans, train staff, hire contractors and implement energy projects. Without that money, tribes must generate revenue elsewhere, whether that’s securing funding through state partnerships or through private ventures.

“Tribes helping tribes is a key strategy we’ll have to use right now,” said Bessler. “Let’s just help each other get through this.”

Buffalo’s Fire is covering the UTTC Tribal Summit and International Powwow live all week.