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Grassroots is Where the Change Happens
Above: Henry Red Cloud poses for a portrait in front of a solar panel array at Red Cloud Renewables, October 2022. When storms on the Pine Ridge reservation, home of the Oglala Nation, in South Dakota begin to build, they can be seen from miles away. Above rolling hills, clouds turn into waves and…
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Wes Davis | A Vision for Tribal Sovereignty through Sustainable Energy
The Turtle Mountain Community College sits in the heart of Turtle Mountain Reservation just a few miles south of the Canadian border. Each morning, Wes Davis, the facilities manager scans a chart he refers to as “the heartbeat of the college.” The sensors that have been installed in the school track when doors open…
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The Voice of the Lakota Nation runs on Renewable Energy
On the road that leads into the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota there are farm fields layered with hay bales and horses, some of which escape on the occasion and trot gently alongside passing vehicles. On the outside of the main town of Porcupine, KILI Radio Station sits on top of a hill…
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Bison Reintroduction | Nature’s Best Tool
In several locations in the West, bison reintroduction has begun to revitalize indigenous culture, increase food sovereignty, and heal the land. The Fort Peck reservation, in northern Montana, is one such place. The Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes are leaders in buffalo restoration and have continued the expansion of their buffalo program since…
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Rosebud Reservation Creates Economic Opportunity Through Food Sovereignty
Rosebud Economic Development Corporation (REDCO) builds Homegrown Prosperity by connecting Sicangu Lakota Oyate communities to local, traditional food. Above: From left to right, the Sicangu Food Sovereignty Initiative Staff, Aaron Mandell, Mike Prate, Edwin Her Many Horses, Rachel Kent, Matt Wilson and Hollis Vanderlinden in front of a greenhouse at the Keya Wakpala Garden,…
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Ernest Weston:Thunder Valley CDC
Above: Food Sovereignty Program Coordinator at Thunder Valley, Ernest Weston, stands in a newly built green house on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. “I remember the morning I left for school. I loaded up the Dodge pickup at 4 a.m. and then went inside to say goodbye to my family. We all…