6 March 2024
WASHINGTON (KSNW) — Two tribal reservations in Kansas are receiving funds from a program from the Office of Indian Economic Development.
The Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, in portions of Brown and Doniphan Counties in Kansas, and Southern Richardson County in Nebraska, and The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation in Jackson County will receive funding from the Tribal Electrification Program. The program is funded by the Inflation and Reduction Act. They are two of 21 nations that are sharing $72 million that will be used to provide financial and technical assistance to connect homes to electrical transmission and distribution from renewable energy sources.
According to the Department of the Interior, at least 14% of tribal homes do not have access to electricity. That number is 10 times higher than the national average.
“Indian Country’s revitalization and future depends on Tribal households, schools and businesses having access to clean, reliable power,” said Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Bryan Newland. “The Tribal Electrification Program is important for providing Tribes a much-needed boost to their efforts of closing the access-to-electricity gap in their communities.”
The department says The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation will receive $305,000. The Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska is receiving $9,400,000.
The full list of recipients and funding amounts are:
Tribe or Tribal Organization State Funding Levelock Village Alaska $333,813 Kootznoowoo, Incorporated Alaska $500,000 Chickaloon Native Village Alaska $7,767,520 Tanana Chiefs Conference Alaska $9,922,060 San Carlos Apache Tribe Arizona $360,000 Hopi Utilities Corporation Arizona $4,200,000 Navajo Tribal Utility Authority Arizona, New Mexico and Utah $10,000,000 Cachil Dehe Band of Wintun Indians, Colusa Rancheria California $250,000 Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians California $250,000 Yurok Tribe California $3,271,068 Guidiville Rancheria of California California $3,552,350 Shoshone Paiute Tribes Idaho and Nevada $525,000 Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Kansas $305,000 Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska Kansas $9,400,000 Bois Forte Band of Chippewa Minnesota $295,000 Prairie Island Indian Community Minnesota $500,000 Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians Minnesota $600,000 Pueblo of Santa Ana New Mexico $14,500,000 Rosebud Sioux Tribe South Dakota $1,000,000 Quinault Indian Nation Washington $3,650,000 Eastern Shoshone Housing Authority Wyoming $1,000,000 Total $72,181,811
To view an interactive map of current Bureau of Indian Affairs projects on tribal lands across the country, click here.