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Native Americans Seek Wealth From the Wind

Tribes on wind-rich land hope alternative energy boom will reshape their economies

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 10, 2008 4:59 PM CDT

(Newser) – Native Americans own some of America's most wind-rich land, and tribal leaders in South Dakota and elsewhere are working to harness the natural power to cash in on the alternative energy boom, the New York Times reports. If they are successful, the projects could work transformations similar to those casinos did elsewhere. "The same thing that brought the buffalo brings the wind,” said a leader of the Rosebud Sioux. "The wind is a gift."

The Rosebud, whose members have an annual income of $7,700 each, are poised to sign a deal to open a wind farm after 5 tortured years of negotiations with a non-Indian developer. And now federal officials can point to the deal as a model for other tribes. "It could be huge," said a liaison with the Energy Department.

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A truck carrying a wind turbine blade rolls down Interstate 90 near Belvidere, S.D., on July 10, 2007. (AP Photo/Joe Kafka)

Wind turbines are seen in this Monday, April 21, 2008 file photo, at the Harvest Wind Farm in Oliver Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)

A row of 260-foot-tall wind turbines churn out power at the Smoky Hills wind farm near Lincoln, Kansas in this Jan. 25, 2008 file photo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

A crane lifts a section of a 260-foot-tall wind turbine into position at the Smoky Hills wind farm near Lincoln, Kan. Saturday, Jan. 26, 2008. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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We’re broke here. We’re poor. The wind is free. There’s energy here all the time. - Ken Haukaas of the Rosebud Sioux

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Native Americans Seek Wealth From the Wind