When it comes to economic development, I think Aboroginals/First Nations/Indians are hamstrung pretty badly. At least in Canada (I’m not 100% up on the American situation), I know that native tribes don’t actually own the land their reserves are situated on, and their types of business/industry are restricted.
Unfortunately, a lot of bands turn to casinos, which we could argue about all day, but which I don’t think are the magical money machines they’re made out to be. That’s especially true if you happen to be a remotely-located tribe.
However, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, perched on top of massive coal and natural-gas deposits, is investing their efforts in a slightly different direction — renewable energy. From a story in the New York Times:
[The tribe] had to surmount many hurdles to find an alternative energy idea it considered suitable.
For example, any project that would displace land used for growing food was tossed out for philosophical reasons: the Southern Utes’ belief that energy and food should not compete in a world where people still starve. That eliminated discussion of corn-based ethanol.
And whatever was chosen had to be at least technically feasible, if not immediately profitable.
So they’ve turned to a University of Colorado startup that is trying to turn algae into vegetable-oil fuel. Plus, with an algae tank located next to a tribal natural-gas facility, they’re able to use waste heat and waste carbon dioxide to warm and feed the algae.
This is exactly the type of win-win-win situation that I love to hear about. Iron Eyes Cody, dry your tears.
Grant Hamilton
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