It has been less than four months since Michigan’s Gun Lake Tribe received grants totaling $4 million for its plans to fight climate change.
Its electric infrastructure implementation project ramped up this spring.
Phyllis Davis, a tribal council member, said they are looking at ways to could increase efficiency and reduce negative environmental impacts on their area.
“Those dollars were used to replace existing vehicles, for the government campus and our gaming venue, with electric vehicles and charging systems that we will have installed throughout the footprint of our tribal campus,” Davis outlined.
This month, the Gun Lake Tribe had a visit from U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who touted their successes so far and announced an additional $120 million in grant funding to help tribal communities around the country prepare for climate-related threats.
The money is part of a larger $560 million investment in tribal climate resilience programs. The focus is on making sure historically underfunded communities, and those seeing more pollution and environmental hazards, have a chance to improve their situations.
Davis pointed out the selection process for the funding was very competitive and shared why she believes the Gun Lake Tribe stood out among the other applicants.
“We do such a good job in grants and management, that every project that we’ve been awarded by the federal government, we have spent our dollars wisely,” Davis explained. “We have fulfilled every objective. We’ve been highly successful.”
Through federal initiatives, tribes can apply for grants for climate-related priorities, from planning and drought mitigation to wildfire prevention and coastal management.
