Reducing costs, improving lives
Fresh Energy and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians team up to lower high energy costs

Many low income families are spending an increasing percentage of household income on energy. High prices for heat and electricity combined with low monthly incomes and substandard housing conditions create a heavy burden for many, especially those who live on Native American reservations. Residents of the Turtle Mountain reservation—located in north central North Dakota—currently face an unemployment rate of 70 percent, while 38 percent of all residents live at or below the federal poverty level. They often pay higher rates for energy because of geographic location.

Reducing high energy costs for this population is crucial. The Turtle Mountain reservation population is increasing 20 percent every 10 years, and half of the current 30,000 tribal members live on or adjacent to the reservation. With cost and demand rising, the time to tackle energy problems is now.

Fresh Energy’s Energy Justice program has teamed up with Turtle Mountain members to tackle high energy costs on the reservation. The Turtle Mountain Pathways to Prosperity initiative is part of the Northwest Area Foundation’s Ventures program. The Ventures program invests significant resources to support community poverty reduction strategies for the most disadvantaged people.

Reducing high energy costs is a key way to fight poverty on the reservation. Fresh Energy will work with the Turtle Mountain community to increase efficiency and conservation on the reservation to reduce costs for tribal citizens and government. Project staff will:

• analyze current energy use in residential and commercial buildings on the reservation
• research current funding
• develop policy expertise and advocacy strategies
• continue to look for local energy generation opportunities

The Turtle Mountain band, in collaboration with Fresh Energy, aims for a prosperous unified community in which every family can live with pride, respect, and dignity in a healthy environment free from poverty. Addressing high energy costs is an important step in this process.

Promoting solutions

Energy Justice program associate Daryl Sager is heading the collaborative project with Turtle Mountain. Daryl—an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota—has a special connection with the project. “To go back and help one's community is something that most Native people strive to do, but many don’t get the chance. My work will not only impact the tribe’s energy use in the short-term, but more importantly make long-term changes that are long overdue,” said Sager.

Sager’s work with the Energy Justice program has taken him across the Midwest region, where he has witnessed the need for increased energy efficiency and improved housing on reservations. “I’ve seen the condition of a lot of Native homes across the Midwest and they all need attention. It doesn’t take long to see a problem that needs to be fixed,” Sager said.

The Turtle Mountain project will help reduce the amount of money reservation residents spend on energy, leaving more household income for other necessities. “Education and awareness must take place, including finding ways for each individual homeowner to lower their own energy costs. Nobody should have to pick between heating their home and putting food on the table. The time to improve these homes is now; it should never have taken this long.”

Support this service! Become a member of Fresh Energy.

Fresh Energy works daily for smart energy policies and regulations that enhance our economies, protect human health and communities, restore our environment, and move us toward energy independence. www.fresh-energy.org