U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced the availability of the $120 million while visiting the Gun Lake Tribe earlier this week. The funding can be used by Tribal communities across the country to combat problems related to climate change.
Virginia Sprague-Vanderband sits on the Gun Lake Tribal Council. She says the Tribe received $4 million through last year’s Tribal Climate Annual Award, which it used to install solar infrastructure and purchase electric vehicles for use in the Tribe’s casino transportation services.
“I think when you’re looking at how we’re taking care of the land, that is a great way to complete the circle. We were big users of that component and we wanted to look for ways to take care of ourselves and if there was a way we could give back.”
This year’s funding is part of a $560 million federal investment for Tribal climate resilience programs through the bipartisan Infrastructure Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.
Sprague-Vanderband says this funding provides opportunities to furthering environmentally friendly initiatives while also boosting future developments.
“When you think of Tribal Nation and you think of how we are stewards of the land, of Mother Earth, of the water, we want to be sure that we’re cognizant and, again, that our approach is safe for the environment and it’s safe for us as people of the land.”
Tribes and Tribal organizations will be able to apply for fire mitigation, drought measures, and ocean and coastal management grants.
