From wildfires and floods to droughts and wildlife losses, the Nez Perce Tribe has been working for several years to address the impacts of the climate crisis.
The tribe is going to use the money for specific projects, like building homes with solar power and providing an off-grid resiliency center during evacuations. The projects will help the tribe’s primary goal of reducing its climate footprint.
Climate change coordinator for the Nez Perce Tribe, Stefanie Krantz, shared the tribe’s initial reactions to receiving this sizable award.
“We were the only tribe to prevail nationwide, and there's a bit of sadness in that. We really want to see all of our brothers and sisters succeeding in ending the climate crisis. And we know that everybody has to do this together," said Krantz.
The tribe is also looking into reducing their dependence on hydroelectric power. The Nez Perce have relied on salmon for generations and dams have negatively affected salmon populations across the Pacific Northwest.
"Fish need our help. One of the best ways to help them is to end the climate crisis and end our dependence on polluting forms of energy,” said Krantz.
Chairman of the Nez Perce tribe, Shannon Wheeler, issued a formal statement of how the EPA’s grant will be used to take climate actions to protect the tribe’s culture, identity, economy, and way of life. Wheeler also says the initiatives will improve the community’s resilience and create high-quality jobs.
“This funding is a crucial step toward securing a sustainable and climate-safe future vital to safeguarding our sovereignty and treaty reserved rights and resources for generations of Nimiipuu to come,” Krantz quotes from Wheeler's formal statement.
The tribe is working with the EPA to make sure their projects meet the grant’s terms, including upgrading 350 homes equipped with solar panels by the end of the grant’s five-year period.
Editor's Note: "Building" homes was changed to "upgrading" homes.
