MINNEAPOLIS, MN – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) announced Lower Sioux Indian Community (LSIC) will receive federal funding to reduce harmful carbon emissions and energy costs in Tribal homes and businesses. LSIC will be awarded nearly $5 million from the Inflation Reduction Act’s climate provisions, which Senator Smith helped to pass into law. This award will allow LSIC to:
- Install over 70 cold-climate heat pumps to heat and cool homes while reducing propane use by more than 60%, saving people money on their energy costs while reducing harmful emissions, even during Minnesota winters.
- Weatherize 60 Tribal homes to be more energy efficient, including through the use of hemp-based insulation to reduce utility costs and improve indoor air quality.
- Set up an energy efficiency improvement fund to make 22 tribally managed businesses more energy efficient.
“Our transition to a clean energy economy can’t leave Indian Country behind. We are finally starting to turn the page on generations of underinvestment and underfunding by the federal government in Indian Country through projects like this,” said Senator Smith. “Tribes know what works best for them and their members, and this funding allows them to meet the unique needs of their communities.”
“Lower Sioux Indian Community, Cansayapi, has been researching and working diligently to find ways to continue as good stewards of the Earth and reducing the carbon footprint by growing hemp and building homes made with hemp-based materials for insulation,” said Robert L. Larsen, Lower Sioux Community Council President. “With the help of Senators Klobuchar and Smith, we will continue reducing harmful emissions from fossil fuels and improving local resilience by installing solar-powered heat pumps so the traditional heat sources will not have to run as often or as long. This funding supports Lower Sioux’s strategy to evaluate and weatherize homes, which ultimately will affect the cost to heat them and reduce the harmful emissions from conventional heating sources. The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions will contribute directly to Lower Sioux’s resilience goals and demonstrate a shift towards cleaner and more sustainable building options. We appreciate the relationships that have developed over the years with our friends and Senators. They actually listen and respond when they ask us ‘What do you need?’ They follow through with words and actions.”
Smith has worked diligently to ensure Tribal Nations are not left behind in the clean energy transition. She helped Red Lake Nation, Prairie Island Indian Community, and Bois Forte Band of Chippewa connect Tribal homes to clean electricity, delivered funding for White Earth Nation to increase their energy storage and use of solar power, in addition to securing funds for Tribal organizations to deploy Tribally-owned residential solar across the Upper Midwest.
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