MANDERSON, S.D. — The first family in Indian country to install wind and
solar electrical power sources without government assistance has taken one
step closer to self-sufficiency.

Alex White Plume, vice president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, made good on a
dream he had some 26 years ago: to rid his family of high-cost cooperative
electrical power from local companies. With the installation of a 1
kilowatt wind generator and a 1 kW solar-generated power system, White
Plume’s brother, Percy, will be the first person connected to the power
source, and will be virtually free of electrical bills.

While there are several examples of tribally owned power generation
systems, the White Plume system is the first for a family that is privately
funded. The White Plume family is also the first family to become members
of the Intertribal Council on Utility Policy, according to Pat Spears,
president.

White Earth has a 20 kW turbine in operation. The Hopi installed small
units for its membership; however, trouble with the turbines hampered
electrical production for sustained periods. And the Navajo Nation
purchased many small turbines for its tribal members.

White Plume said when he was first married, neither he nor his wife had
jobs. They struggled to pay monthly electric bills for the first two years.
Some months they had money, other months nothing; so they experienced
frequent cut-offs and reconnects. He vowed to someday be independent of the
power companies.

Today La Creek Electric Cooperative, which supplies power to much of Pine
Ridge, charges a $15 per month fee just for the meter. White Plume said his
goal was to have only one meter for an entire area that eventually will
supply wind power for some 25 families — for free.

The new wind generator will supply power for one family, a community center
and, eventually, a newly constructed economic development center on White
Plume’s property. The center will be an incubator for individual
entrepreneurs.

The White Plume tiospaye, or extended family, has taken many steps toward
economic development on their land, located on the Pine Ridge Reservation
in the Badlands. White Plume raises buffalo and horses, and operates a
horse camp on his property.

He tried to create economic development for the family by growing
industrial hemp, only to have the federal authorities destroy two crops and
take him to federal court. He is awaiting an appeal on his conviction of
illegally growing hemp. The wind generator, a community center and Percy
White Plume’s home are located on the second-year hemp field, which was
destroyed by federal authorities in 2001.

The wind- and solar-generated power makes perfectly good sense where White
Plume and his family live, as the wind blows continuously and the sun
shines almost every day year-round. In fact, White Plume’s wife, Debbie,
coined the phrase “Pine Ridge is the Saudi Arabia of wind power.”

The new alternative energy system was constructed and financed with private
donations and labor from family and friends. The cost of the wind generator
and tower, White Plume said, was just under $20,000. A $10,000 donation
from one person helped bring the project to reality.

Support for the project also came from the White Earth Land Acquisition
Project, headed by Winona LaDuke on the White Earth Reservation in
Minnesota. LaDuke and youth from White Earth were present at the raising of
the tower. The youth attended workshops on alternative energy options for
three days before the turbine was installed.

The youth came from the Hopi, Navajo and White Earth reservations, and from
Canada and California. LaDuke said she was interested in this project for
possible clustering of the small turbines for extended families elsewhere.

White Plume started to develop this project in earnest in 1999, even though
he had the idea some 28 years ago.

The power from the turbine and the solar system will be connected to La
Creek Electric’s grid. White Plume will be paid at the rate of one and
one-half cents per kilowatt-hour for the excess from his system. There are
no batteries to back up the system, but the plan is to have them installed
in the future after a member of the tiospaye is trained in their
maintenance.

White Plume’s goal is to provide power for the future and give something of
value to the young people of his family. The younger generation will also
learn about alternative energy and the maintenance of the system.

This is the first family system to be connected to La Creek Electric,
according to Wayne Sterkle of La Creek. It requires a simple contract
between the electric company and the owner of the system if the wattage is
less than 150,000 watts (150 kW).

Sterkle said he wanted to see the wind power system go up so his grid and
lines could be tested to see if it is feasible to add more units.

“There is a safety issue. We didn’t want power to go on the line and have
the grid go down,” Sterkle said. There are not enough lines on the
reservation for large wind farms or turbine units.

KILI radio, the on-air voice of the Pine Ridge Reservation, has a power
turbine system in the planning stages. That system would be much larger
than White Plume’s.

According to studies on the Pine Ridge Reservation, the entire area tests
very high for potential wind energy development. The Oglala Sioux Tribe has
been working on a larger wind farm; and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, with one
turbine that supplies power for its casino, is also working on a series of
small wind farms. Rosebud is also located in a high-level area for wind
generation.