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With help from Congress, the Trump Administration stripped some $1.5 billion in federal funds previously promised to tribes. A lot of that was in the form of contracts for clean energy manufacturing and development — new money doled out three years earlier as part of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. A new analysis by the Brookings Institution identifies three funding and policy changes, including reductions in SNAP and Medicaid, that negatively affect Native Americans. The research firm says the actions continue a pattern of disinvestment and falls short of the federal government’s binding responsibility to Indian Country.
GUESTS
Robert Maxim (Mashpee Wampanoag), fellow at The Brookings Institution
Chéri Smith (Mi’kmaq descendant), president and CEO of the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy
Timothy Nuvangyaoma (Hopi), vice president of tribal engagement for the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy and former chairman of the Hopi Tribe
Dr. Kyle Whyte (Citizen Potawatomi Nation), professor at the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan
Break 1 Music: Intertribal (song) Cree Confederation (artist) Pakosiyimitan (album)
Break 2 Music: Digital Winter (song) Ya Tseen (artist) Stand On My Shoulders (album)
A lot of the political talk around “clean energy” focuses on climate change, but that’s only half the story.
The truth is simple — most families just need lower electric bills. Energy costs are eating up a bigger share of household income every year, especially for low- and moderate-income families. That’s why solar and other alternative energy options matter. It’s not just about carbon; it’s about fairness and affordability.
Programs like Solar for All had the right idea — bringing solar to families who can’t afford it upfront. But too much of it got tangled in politics and bureaucracy before the benefits could reach real people.
If we’re serious about energy justice, we need solutions that last longer than an election cycle — local projects, community control, and practical investments that make monthly bills go down, not up.
The goal shouldn’t just be “green energy.” It should be affordable energy for everyone.