Indigenous Communities to Launch EV Charging Network in Midwest | Article

Indigenous communities have historically been and continue to be burdened with pollution and harmful health impacts stemming from fossil fuel production in or near their sovereign lands. The Midwest states of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota have several pipelines (e.g., the Line 3 and Dakota Access pipelines) that crisscross rural areas and tribal nations. These states also host fracking facilities, oil refineries, and coal and natural gas power plants that pollute the air and water.

Studies show that air and water pollution from highways, refineries, fracking facilities, and power plants "disproportionally and systematically harms" communities of color and Indigenous people, regardless of income or location. Fracking pads located on Indigenous lands, like the Bears Ears Reservation in North Dakota, can result in toxic wastewater containing substances like arsenic, lead, chlorine, and mercury that can contaminate groundwater and drinking water. Oil and natural gas pipelines that transport fossil energy to power plants and oil refineries while traversing rural areas are also prone to leaks, further polluting water tables. Ultimately, the oil fuels our cars and heats our buildings, contributing to our warming and changing planet. Many Indigenous people are working on solutions to get us out of our addiction to fossil fuels and gas-powered vehicles.

On November 1, 2021, Native Sun Community Development—a native-led, Minneapolis-based nonprofit organization working on environmental justice issues by promoting renewable energy, energy efficiency, and a just energy transition through education, demonstration, and workforce training— received $6.66 million from the Department of Energy (DOE) to deploy electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in community settings in tribal areas. This was one of the largest awards given out by the recently-created Low Greenhouse Gas Vehicle Technologies Research, Development, Demonstration and Deployment fund. It is a testament to the great need for decarbonization efforts in tribal communities. The award is expected to commence in 2022 and last for three years.

Native Sun leads the project with more than a dozen organizations, a coalition that includes, among others, the Standing Rock Renewable Energy Power Authority, Fresh Energy, Red Lake Fishery, the American Lung Association, Xcel Energy, and Otter Tail Power. The funding award will enable the deployment of more than 120 charging stations in three states by creating an inter-tribal EV charging network. The network will connect Minneapolis with the Standing Rock Tribal Nation, Red Lake Nation, White Earth, Leech Lake, plus another 17 tribal nations located in Minnesota and South Dakota. Additionally, the grant will fund the purchase of at least 19 EVs, including two electric school buses.

Bob Blake. Photo Credit: Solar Bear

Bob Blake is the executive director of Native Sun and owner (and founder) of Solar Bear, a minority-owned nonprofit seeking to accelerate his community’s transition to a renewable energy future. Through Solar Bear, Blake supports tribal nations’ transition to clean energy by installing solar energy panels and battery storage for commercial and community centers. A member of the Red Lake Tribal Nation in Minnesota, Blake put together the coalition of utilities and nonprofit organizations that wrote the DOE grant proposal. In this interview, Blake discusses the project and how it can help Indigenous and rural communities in the Midwest move away from fossil fuels.

EESI: What is this EV Pathway initiative about?

Blake: It is all about deploying electric charging stations to spur electric vehicle uptake. We have the technology, the education, the policy, but we lack the deployment. We have everything; let’s just do it! These investments create a ripple effect of economic development and job creation in communities that have been historically underserved and left out by economic development opportunities. Tribal communities have been historically harmed by fossil fuel interests.

We decided to put up this charging network to enable more electric vehicles and reduce our overall reliance on fossil fuels. This is important to build now, and someone has to do it. So why not us? If it is not us and led by an Indigenous person, it will be built by someone else, who will most likely leave us behind. To be an Indigenous-led EV charging network is a win-win.

EESI: How did this idea originate?

Blake: The news said that this is an Indigenous person’s response to the pipeline infrastructure that has been laid out in the Midwest states, including Line 3 and the Dakota Access Pipeline. We are still going to fight it [Line 3] although it has been placed in operation, and we will resist it.

When we worked on the grant application concept, we were thinking about how cool it would be to recreate an EV charging station network across several Midwestern states, allowing a family with an electric car to take a road trip. It would be similar to a trip like in the old days on Route 66, but instead, it would be a Native American Scenic Byway. A family would start in Minneapolis and travel down to South Dakota, stopping along the way, enjoying the sights, eating in restaurants, and spending money in rural towns. Rural areas have been particularly hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the EV pathway would allow families to do some tourism in rural areas. Each tribal nation, connected by the EV Pathway, already has casinos, restaurants, and retail offerings that a family can enjoy. And now there would be a deployment of EV charging stations linking small rural communities in North Dakota, Minnesota, and South Dakota like a pearl string.

For the Department of Energy solicitation for grants, we thought we needed to put a story behind it. So, why don’t we partner with the Standing Rock Tribe, in South Dakota, for the Pathway Network? We did just that. We want to give people a choice between building their life around a zero-emission electric car and EV charging network or fossil fuels, pollution, and an internal combustion engine.

We put this initiative forward in response to the building of the Dakota Access Pipeline through tribal lands and the subsequent protest that occurred in Standing Rock against such fossil fuel infrastructure development in 2016. We also wrote this application because of the building and operation of the Line 3 pipeline, which also crosses sovereign Indigenous territory. We wanted to contrast the construction of such disastrous infrastructure for our communities with a cleaner option, through the development of the EV Pathway.

With this initiative, we want to bring out EV technology to rural areas that may not have seen it, which will help with the clean energy transition. These communities will see the benefits of moving to EVs and clean energy, appreciate the value, see how it works, and support it.

EESI: What are the objectives and outcomes of this project?

Blake: We acknowledge that someone has to step up to the climate crisis, and it is us, the Indigenous people who need to do it. We are the original people of Turtle Island—which is how we call North America—and we are responsible for these lands. In response to the Line 3 pipeline, I see this EV Pathway as a pipeline of electricity, innovation, and economic development opportunities for so many people who have historically suffered—and for rural communities that have suffered greatly from the pandemic. But it has to be deployed and put together. Because the tribal nations are the only people with sovereign governments, they can lead the way. If we do this, more people will buy EVs, more good union jobs will be created in the clean energy space, generating a positive domino effect in these communities.

We will work through our coalition of nonprofits and utilities with small businesses and Indigenous-led businesses to deploy this EV charging network and ensure it is operated and maintained correctly. Along with 59 fast-charging hubs and 63 level two electric vehicle charging stations, we will purchase at least 19 electric vehicles, including two electric school buses for rural areas. We will collect the data usage from these electric vehicles and share it publicly through the Department of Energy.

EESI: How is this initiative going to transform how people see EVs and clean energy?

Blake: The lack of electric charging stations and range anxiety are obvious barriers for people to buy an electric car. Hopefully, with this Pathway EV charging network, there will be more options to charge an EV car resulting in increased EV adoption and lower carbon emissions.

This coalition that we put together will help with that mind change. We felt that the actions of the federal government with the pipelines were not respecting the Indigenous people’s treaty rights. This coalition of utilities, businesses, nonprofits, and tribal governments coming together in this initiative symbolizes that we do not believe the way the Tribes are treated is fair. We need to do something. And this EV Pathway Network is the result of our action to do something to reduce oil production, pipelines, and gas-powered cars.

Obviously, this work is interconnected with the solar energy and clean energy transition. As the power grid becomes cleaner, these charging stations will draw and fuel cars with clean-generated electricity. This initiative is also connected with the recently enacted Bipartisan Infrastructure Law [which allocates $7.5 billion to create a national network of fast EV charging stations]. The national network can supplement and connect to the Native American Scenic Byway, but we wanted to make sure that tribal nations and rural communities were present and not left behind by this new EV infrastructure as we have historically been.

If we can deploy this EV Pathway, put the coalition together, and apply for the grant, then other communities around the country can do the same. I have received numerous requests from tribal nations and communities across the country for how they can implement their ideas and replicate what we have done.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Author: Miguel Yañez-Barnuevo