Janet Conklin

Research Fellow

Celebrating Tribal Communities leading the clean energy transition

For Native American Heritage month, Generation180 is spotlighting renewable energy wins within Tribal Communities. These stories illustrate how clean energy is advancing sovereignty, resilience, and opportunity across Indian Country.

In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, two Tribal Nations — the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians — have been shaping the region’s energy future since the early 2000s. Their sustained investments in renewable power and energy efficiency are cutting emissions, building local capacity, and strengthening community resilience across Anishinaabe homelands of the Upper Great Lakes.

Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) | Baraga County, MI

Building on generations of environmental stewardship, KBIC formalized its clean energy vision in 2008 through the adoption of a Strategic Energy Plan outlining a long-term path toward independence from fossil fuels. That same year, it established the Committee for Alternative and Renewable Energy (CARE) to coordinate energy priorities across departments and lead the work defined in the Strategic Energy Plan. The Tribe soon moved from planning to implementation: installing solar at its Commodity Food Program facility in 2013 and the New Day Treatment Center and LaPointe Health Clinic in 2017 — projects that earned the Indian Health Service Green Champions Award for Sustainable Design.

KBIC’s renewable energy strategy continues to build on this foundation, as reflected in the 2024 Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP). Current projects include a 2.5-megawatt solar-plus-battery system powering key community buildings and a 4-kilowatt residential solar program for about 700 Tribal homes — together expected to generate more than 4 million kilowatt-hours of clean electricity each year and reduce emissions by roughly 3,600 metric tons of CO₂e annually. These investments directly support the Tribe’s Priority Climate Action Plan’s four priority areas — renewable energy generation, building efficiency, clean transportation, and land management — which align with the goals of the Committee for Alternative and Renewable Energy (CARE) to advance energy sovereignty and climate resilience. 

With these efforts, KBIC is setting a precedent for what long-term, community-led energy planning can deliver — a model echoed by other tribal nations across the Great Lakes region.

Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians | Upper Peninsula, MI

Farther east, the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe — the largest Native nation east of the Mississippi — has taken its clean energy leadership beyond its own operations, pairing local efficiency and renewable initiatives with national investments that advance tribal energy innovation across the country. Spread across seven counties in Michigan’s eastern Upper Peninsula, the Tribe’s work is guided by the Seven Grandfather Teachings — Love, Wisdom, Bravery, Truth, Honesty, Respect, and Humility — principles that also shape its approach to energy sovereignty and community resilience.

The Tribe’s 2012 Energy Strategy set a bold long-term benchmark: “No Net Purchased Energy.” For every unit of energy the Tribe buys — whether to power facilities, vehicles, or travel — it aims to produce an equivalent amount of renewable energy for export to the grid. The plan began with reducing consumption by 4% annually, laying the groundwork for broader renewable deployment and long-term energy independence. In 2014, the White House named the Tribe a Climate Action Champion, citing its “holistic approach to climate action and preparedness” that integrates energy, emergency operations, and land-use planning.

In recent years, the Tribe has expanded its energy leadership nationwide. In 2022, it became a $2.5 million equity partner in Indian Energy, a Native-owned microgrid developer advancing large-scale storage and renewable projects across Indian Country. The partnership links the Sault Tribe to one of the most significant state-funded tribal energy projects to date — a $31 million grant from the California Energy Commission supporting a 60-megawatt-hour long-duration battery system for the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians. By investing directly in Indigenous-led innovation, the Tribe is helping to commercialize next-generation energy storage technology while positioning itself to share in the financial and environmental returns. It’s a model of energy sovereignty in practice — leveraging capital, collaboration, and long-term vision to build a more resilient clean energy future.

Regional Impact | Marquette Alternative High School | Marquette, MI

The impact of these long-standing clean energy commitments extends beyond tribal lands. In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula — where ratepayers face some of the highest electricity and heating costs in the country — KBIC and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians have helped bring renewable power to their neighbors as well.

Without the support of these two tribal communities, this project would not have had the initial funds needed to apply for the state grant that fully funded the installation.

Teacher Brian Prill told The Mining Journal, the daily newspaper serving Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

With their support, Marquette Alternative High School installed a 50-kilowatt rooftop solar array that now supplies roughly a third of the school’s annual electricity needs. The project began as a vision shared by teacher Brian Prill and his students, and came to life with grants from KBIC and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. Those early contributions provided the seed funding needed to secure a state matching grant, ultimately transforming the classroom idea into a rooftop reality. 

“Without the support of these two tribal communities, this project would not have had the initial funds needed to apply for the state grant that fully funded the installation,” Prill told The Mining Journal, the daily newspaper serving Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

The 50-kilowatt array now produces enough clean power to offset about a third of the school’s annual energy use. Excess power that gets generated feeds back into the local grid, earning credits that lower the district’s utility bills. For Marquette Alternative — a small, student-centered school that values hands-on learning — the benefits go far beyond cost savings.

Students in Prill’s construction and work-readiness course toured the array and participated in a Q&A with the project manager, gaining insight into how solar systems function and what it takes to pursue a career in the clean energy sector. The project also supports the school’s broader focus on sustainability education and its alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, connecting classroom learning to real-world opportunities and community impact.

The project reflects the generosity and leadership of its tribal partners — an extension of the long-standing clean energy commitments that are reshaping the region’s energy landscape. From utility-scale solar and battery projects to community partnerships like Marquette’s, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians continue to show how sustained investment and collaboration can strengthen communities and accelerate a just, locally led clean energy future across the Upper Great Lakes.

Curious to see how other tribal schools and communities are leading the clean energy transition? Be on the lookout for our upcoming blogs on clean energy wins in Tribal communities across the country. From the Pine Point Resilience Hub in Minnesota to the Local Solar Access Fund providing $20 million for clean energy in tribal, rural and low-income communities in New Mexico, these projects are showing what local leadership and energy sovereignty look like in action.