MISSION, S.D. – The Rosebud Sioux Tribe became the first American Indian tribe to create a long term sustainable income with something the government nor anyone can take away from them – wind.

It’s no secret that tribes across the country lost land and natural resources just because they were on the reservations and received little or no financial return for the loss. Wind cannot be diverted from the Rosebud Reservation or any other reservation and by erecting wind turbines, the wind will blow no matter what the attempt to steal from the tribe.

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe, on May 1, became the first tribe in the nation to receive a check for the sale of electricity generated by a renewable resource, wind power. And more checks are part of the future for the youth of the tribe. The new turbine has been up and running since the middle of March.

Basin Electric, the cooperative that distributes electric energy to local power companies will use the energy from the Rosebud Turbine to supplement fossil fuel generation of power. This will reduce the CO2 emissions for people downwind in the Great Lakes to Newfoundland and it will reduce the need for 25,000 tons of coal over the life of the turbine. It will provide enough power for 300 homes.

“This was an overnight success in eight years,” said Patrick Spears, president of the Intertribal Council on Utility Policy. The project started in 1995 with the installation of an anemometer to collect wind data. Some members of the Rosebud Utilities Committee said they couldn’t even pronounce the word when they started.

The journey from testing the wind to harnessing the wind and the determination of the Rosebud Utility Commission lasted through five different tribal administrations.

“The day this turbine was assembled I went to (William Kindle, tribal president) and he said he had to dig deep in his pockets for patience on this project. I said smarter people than us would have quit long ago,” said Robert Gough, secretary of the Intertribal Council on Utility Policy (ICOUP).

“I was thinking about how many months this project took and realized it took years. There was a lot of effort and work from a lot of people to get this going. But we had the committee that could take care of it.

“In our journey we stumbled, but we picked the ball up and ran again. All people stepped up to the plate,” Kindle said.

The many people involved with the project from the beginning now see it as the key to a larger plan for the many tribes of the Great Plains. The ICOUP has a plan that will include the generation of 3-megawatts of power on each reservation. The new turbine at Rosebud will generate 750,000 watts of power. The Dakota’s have been called the Saudia Arabia of wind power, and the tribes can play a major part in reducing greenhouse gases and providing a large percentage of the renewable resource energy for the region.

“This is the richest wind region in the world,” Gough said.

The new turbine now called the Alex “Little Soldier” Lunderman Turbine is the first of a series the Rosebud Sioux Tribe will construct. Lunderman, who died in 1999, was tribal chairman when the seed that put the wind energy process in motion was planted.

“Rosebud is leading the way for all tribes toward a sustainable homeland economy based upon an inexhaustible, non-polluting source. Bringing one of our respected elder’s visions to reality is a way of living up to our responsibilities as a voice of the four winds people. Our wind turbine will stand tall as a working symbol of tribal accomplishment for future generations,” said Ronald Neiss, former president of the Rosebud Utilities Commission.

“In a vision, (Lunderman) saw a long line of people behind him walking toward a traditional tipi. Inside the tipi were computers and other kinds of technologies that could be used by our people to protect our Mother Earth.

“He later told us that being able to generate clean electricity from the four winds could help our people,” Neiss said.

The Rosebud wind power project will include five other turbines located in separate locations so local regions could benefit from the power. Each site will require a trained technician to maintain the turbine, which also provides employment, Gough said.

The project made a dramatically successful turn when the NativeEnergy company was contacted by Gough and Spears. The company sells green tags to companies and individuals for CO2 credits.

“We work in Green Tag futures, before the project is constructed and bring cash to the project when it needs it. We convert Green Tags to CO2 reduction and put clean energy on the grids,” said Tom Boucher of NativeEnergy.

“One year ago we entered a unique agreement with the tribe to bring in the money, but more important than financial support was to create a model for other projects in Indian country and beyond. It is working for people who want to fight global warming. It is important to think about this project and others that keep millions of tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere,” Boucher said.

The Rosebud project was funded with 25 percent Green Tag sales, directly from the tribe and government grants from the U.S. Department of Energy and a loan from the U.S. Rural Utility Service helped in the project.

Andrea Asch from Ben & Jerry’s said her company has a mission statement that includes social and environment issues and by working with the Rosebud Tribe they are fulfilling both.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters has an environmental impact and they wanted to have something to offset that impact. That included the purchase of the Green Tags from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and it gave the company a chance to do something now and not wait to reduce the impact in the future.

“It took perseverance and innovative thinking to make this project work,” said John Millhone, office of the assistant secretary the Department of Energy.

“This was a well thought out plan with a good socio-economic goal. We encourage thinking of what you can grow to provide renewable energy. This area is a sweet spot (for wind power). This is not just a tower, this is a cooperative effort by all parties involved,” Millhone said.

Basin Electric buys wind power from other sources in South and North Dakota, but this is the first from an American Indian Reservation. It will support the other forms of electrical energy, hydroelectric and coal generated power. Paul Sukut from Basin Electric said many utilities tried to use natural gas generation, but the price rose and became too expensive.

“We are proud to have this as part of our renewable portfolio. This will create a revenue source for the tribe,” Sukut said.

“The wind turbine generated more than energy. It generated friendships and partnerships that is not what was expected. It’s an opportunity for new friends to find out what is going on in Indian country,” Gough said.

Some of the companies, groups and organizations that participated in the Green Tag purchase to reduce CO2 emissions from the Rosebud Tribe include:

The Timberland Co.

Gravel & Shea

Tall Girl Marketing

UTNE magazine

CO-OP America

Clean Air – Cool Planet

The Regeneration Project

VBSR Environmental Banc & Exchange

Ben & Jerry’s

MusicMatters Inc

Green Mountain Power

Ferro Accounting Services

Dave Matthews Band

Rosebud Agency

ESLINK CORPORATION

Northshire Bookstore

Stonyfield Farm

Vermont Department of Public Service

Chittenden Bank

XENERGY

Vermont Public Service Board

Green Mountain SRI Summit

DOE – National Green Marketing Conference

Renewable Energy Vermont

MeBSR

AARP of Vermont

Shaklee Corporation

Clif Bar

Equal Exchange

Environmental Media Association

Indigo Girls – Boston Concert – 12/10/02

NRDC-Rolling Stones Concert

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

PCUSA Environmental Justice Office

Community for Resource Efficiency

The Breast Cancer Fund

New England Natural Bakers, Inc.

Global Green USA