{"id":688249,"date":"2026-07-13T00:00:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T05:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=688249"},"modified":"2026-07-13T10:47:01","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T15:47:01","slug":"native-america-calling-tribal-solar-projects-shine-on-without-much-federal-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2026\/07\/13\/native-america-calling-tribal-solar-projects-shine-on-without-much-federal-support\/","title":{"rendered":"Native America Calling: Tribal solar projects shine on without much federal support"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"card mb-2\">\r\n  <div class=\"row\">\r\n    <div class=\"col-md-4 align-self-center\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/nativeamericacalling.jpg\" class=\"img-fluid\" alt=\"native america calling\"\/>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"col-md-8\">\r\n      <div class=\"card-body\">\r\n        <div class=\"h5-responsive card-title\">Native America Calling<\/div>\r\n        <div>\r\n           Listen to Native America Calling every weekday at 1pm Eastern.\r\n        <\/div>\r\n        <div>\r\n          <!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]-->\r\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-1859-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/playerservices.streamtheworld.com\/api\/livestream-redirect\/NV1.mp3\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/playerservices.streamtheworld.com\/api\/livestream-redirect\/NV1.mp3\">http:\/\/playerservices.streamtheworld.com\/api\/livestream-redirect\/NV1.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>\r\n\t\t\tAlternate Links: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nv1.org\/\">Native Voice One<\/a> |\r\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nativeamericacalling.com\/\">NAC<\/a>\r\n\t\t\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"h3-responsive font-weight-bold\"><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Monday, July 13, 2026<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"source-links\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nativeamericacalling.com\/\"><i class=\"fas fa-link fa-xs\"><\/i> nativeamericacalling.com<\/a>\r\n&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/nativeamericacalling\/\"><i class=\"fab fa-instagram fa-xs\"><\/i> nativeamericacalling<\/a>\r\n&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nativeamericacalling\"><i class=\"fab fa-facebook fa-xs\"><\/i> nativeamericacalling<\/a>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">\r\nTribal solar projects shine on without much federal support\r\n<\/div>\r\nTribal officials and renewable energy advocates are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mprnews.org\/story\/2026\/06\/10\/judge-says-rural-electric-utility-cannot-cut-tribal-nations-power-over-solar-array\">celebrating a major legal victory<\/a> after an administrative judge in Minnesota  ruled in favor of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uppersiouxcommunity-nsn.gov\/\">Upper Sioux Community<\/a> and the tribe&#8217;s solar-powered casino. \r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThe dispute centers on the tribe\u2019s right to supplement its power with on-site solar energy. It also highlights the friction between tribal sovereignty and local utility monopolies. \r\n<p><\/p>\r\nIn federal court, a separate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.courthousenews.com\/epa-defends-axing-7-billion-solar-program\/\">legal battle is underway to reclaim frozen funding<\/a> from the $7 billion \u201cSolar for All\u201d program that had been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/newsreleases\/biden-harris-administration-announces-7-billion-solar-all-grants-deliver-residential\">championed by the prior administration<\/a>. Despite the federal standstill, Minnesota tribes like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.redlakenation.org\/\">Red Lake Nation<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whiteearth.com\/\">White Earth Nation<\/a>  are forging ahead, successfully building their own solar infrastructure to secure energy independence.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n a href=&#8221;https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/03\/16\/red-lake-nation-secures-first-federal-approval-for-energy-developments\/redlakenation\/&#8221; rel=&#8221;attachment wp-att-22224&#8243;><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" data-attachment-id=\"22224\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/03\/16\/red-lake-nation-secures-first-federal-approval-for-energy-developments\/redlakenation\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/16\/redlakenation-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1920\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-title=\"Red Lake Nation\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Solar panels at Red Lake Nation&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Solar panels installed on the Red Lake Nation in Minnesota. Photo courtesy Red Lake Government &amp;#038; Public Relations&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/16\/redlakenation-1024x768.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/16\/redlakenation-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Red Lake Nation\" class=\"size-full wp-image-22224\" \/><\/a> <figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">A solar panel installation on the Red Lake Nation in Minnesota. Photo courtesy Red Lake Government &#038; Public Relations<\/figcaption>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">Guests on Native America Calling<\/div>\r\nRobert Blake (Red Lake Nation), founder and CEO of <a href=\"https:\/\/solarbear.earth\/\">Solar Bear<\/a>, a business in Minnesota,  and executive director of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nativesun.org\/history\">Native Sun Community Power Development<\/a>, a non-profit in Minnesota\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nNathan Mathews, executive director of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whiteearth.com\/divisions\/tribal-utility-commission-tuc\">White Earth Nation Tribal Utility Commission<\/a> on the White Earth Nation in Minnesota\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/show\/4RE6juPYr7cl2Zsmb2zjq7?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"232\" frameBorder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\"><\/iframe>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">All Episodes on <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/4RE6juPYr7cl2Zsmb2zjq7?si=2a56e59533534bf9\">Spotify<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nativeamericacalling.com\/subscribe-to-podcast\/\">More Options<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<img src=https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/nativeamericacalling.jpg width=0 height=0 class=invisible>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tribes in Minnesota are forging ahead with solar projects, successfully building their own infrastructure to secure energy independence.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22224,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[10,11,67,13,1,14],"tags":[71,284,454,72,243,381,7583,133,134,681,5369,2323,7580,1141],"class_list":["post-688249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-environment","category-indian-gaming","category-law","category-national","category-politics","tag-economic-development","tag-energy","tag-grants","tag-judiciary","tag-media","tag-minnesota","tag-nathan-mathews","tag-native-america-calling","tag-radio","tag-red-lake","tag-robert-blake","tag-solar","tag-upper-sioux","tag-white-earth","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/16\/redlakenation-scaled.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-2T2N","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/688249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=688249"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/688249\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":688379,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/688249\/revisions\/688379"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=688249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=688249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=688249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}