Alliance For Tribal Clean Energy

05/20/2026

226 Tribal leaders, members, and partner-allies. 47 Tribes. One unforgettable week at Tulalip.

The Tribal Energy Evolution Summit is invitation only. We cap attendance at 200 — intentionally — because the work that happens at TEES requires trust, depth, and the kind of conversation that only happens when there is personal connection and shared commitment.

This year, we couldn't stop at 200. The interest was simply too great, and the need for collaboration even greater. 🫱🏽‍🫲🏻

And together, we marked two historic milestones:

💫 We launched the Tribal Clean Energy Regional Coordination Council (TCERCC) — new infrastructure for coordinated regional energy action across Indian Country

🎓 We celebrated the founding Fellows of the Tribal Energy Leaders Fellowship℠ (TELF) — the first fellowship of its kind dedicated to developing the next generation of Tribal clean energy leaders

To every Tribal leader, member, and partner-ally who honored us with their presence at Tulalip — thank you. What you brought to TEES 2026 will ripple far beyond last week. 🪶

05/15/2026

Another tremendous TEES comes to a close.

05/15/2026

Today on Tulalip homelands the first cohort of the Tribal Energy Leaders Fellowship delivered their capstone project presentations to an eager audience at TEES 2026. Each fellow presented a plan for a clean energy project to solve a problem or challenge in their community. Each one rooted in self-determination, pride, and care.
Each one an inspiration. 💫

Dr. Alex Red Corn, interim President and Dr. Daniel Wildcat of Haskell Indian Nations University spoke about the profound needs this first of its kind program and these leaders will meet in Indian Country.

We can’t wait for graduation in a few weeks!

05/13/2026

Professor Bob Miller (Eastern Shawnee), Jonathan & Wendy Rose Professor of Law, Sandra Day O'Connor School of Law, Arizona State University, opened Day 2 of TEES 2026 with a case for clean energy as nation-building. Not simply projects, but a strategy for long-term economic power.

The numbers tell the story: → Only 35¢ of every dollar spent on Navajo Nation stays on the reservation → Tribes lose ~$219M annually in tax revenue to off-reservation spending → Carbon credit programs have already generated $8M, with $200M projected → 13.7% of Native people live on reservations — down from 30%

Clean energy slows or stops the leaks. It keeps revenue circulating in the community, creates jobs, funds schools and language programs, and gives Tribal governments the resources to actually govern.

Sovereignty GOVERNS.

05/13/2026

Two powerful voices for Tribal sovereignty at TEES 2026

Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) sent a video message reaffirming her decades-long commitment to Alaska Native communities and their right to self-determination, economic opportunity, and a clean energy future on their own terms.

Representative Chris Stearns (D-WA - Navajo Nation) took the stage in person, bringing both personal commitment and legislative muscle to the work of advancing Tribal sovereignty for the Nations of the Pacific Northwest.

The Alliance works closely with Senator Murkowski, Representative Stearns, and their dedicated staff to advance equitable energy and sovereignty policies for Tribes and Alaska Native Villages…because this work requires champions on both sides of the aisle.

05/13/2026

Funding is only half the equation.

The Deployment Systems panel at TEES 2026 — Isaiah Ness (Sun Bear Industries ), Grant Timentwa (ColvilleTribalUtility), and Maia Cheli (Schatz Energy Research Center ) — on the systemic barriers that stall Tribal clean energy projects even after the money lands.

05/12/2026

"There's no other solution than to work with the Tribes."

Rep. Chris Stearns (D-WA), Speaker Pro Tempore of the Washington State House, on why Tribal partnership isn't optional — it's the path forward.

Washington is short 9 gigawatts of power. The state's wind and solar potential sits significantly on Tribal lands. The answer, Stearns argues, isn't conflict — it's co-designing energy systems with Tribes who already know how to coexist with states.

🎙️ from his keynote at TEES 2026, hosted by the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy at Tulalip Resort Casino.

05/12/2026

"We tribal leaders — we don't want to ask questions because we don't want people thinking we don't know what we're talking about. Consultation needs to be leader to leader. Don't send a junior staffer to check the box when the decision has already been made. We need to be in the fight from the beginning."

— Gov. Joey Sanchez, Chairman, All Pueblo Council of Governors

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Gov. Joey Sanchez (Santa Ana Pueblo), Chairman of the All Pueblo Council of Governors, at the TEES 2026 Regional Leadership Panel — naming a dynamic that shapes how Tribal leaders show up in rooms where the stakes are highest.

His call: consultation has to be leader to leader, from the beginning. Send an equal. Don't send a junior staffer to check the box when the decision is already made. Tribes need to be in the fight from the start.

Alongside Chairman Leonard Forsman of the Suquamish Tribe, naming the most urgent clean energy priorities shaping their communities right now.

05/12/2026

05/12/2026

Welcomed in a good way. 🪶

The 4th Annual Tribal Energy Evolution Summit (TEES): Stronger Together has officially opened at Tulalip Resort Casino — on the ancestral homelands of the Tulalip Tribes — with a powerful welcome from Tulalip Singers and Dancers, and Red Hawk Express Drum Group, who set the tone for the days ahead.

TEES is the premier national convening for Tribal leaders and allied partners advancing a just transition to energy sovereignty. This year's theme, Stronger Together, reflects what Tribal Nations across Indian Country know to be true: sovereignty grows through unified leadership, regional coordination, and collective action.

Deep gratitude to the Tulalip Tribes for hosting this gathering with such generosity of spirit. To Chairman Tim Nuvangyaoma, and to Paul and Leslie Kabotie, whose facilitation guides this work with wisdom and care. To the Tulalip Singers and Dancers and Red Hawk Express Drum Group, thank you for the gift of ceremony and for setting the tone for the days ahead.

And to all attendees who traveled across Indian Country to be with us in this room, thank you.

The work continues. Together.

05/11/2026

We extend heartfelt gratitude to our Blue Lake Rancheria relatives for inviting us to deliver our cultural awareness training, Pathways to Trust: A Learning Journey Towards Equitable Tribal Partnerships℠, to a group of over 150 people this week.

This special gathering brought together Tribal members, government representatives, companies, nonprofits, educators and more, for a day of honest, courageous learning.

The conversations were deep, the listening was genuine, and the shared intention to build more respectful, equitable partnerships with Tribal Nations was deeply felt in the room.

This is why we created Pathways to Trust℠ — to help build the foundations trust-based Tribal partnerships require…an understanding of Tribal sovereignty, history, governance, and lived experience. Not just for the purposes of clean energy development, but for the greater purpose of healing the wounds that colonization inflicted on all of us.

We left this day hopeful about the possibilities that arise when people come together to listen, learn and move forward - in right relation - together.

📧For more information: [email protected].

Learn more about Pathways to Trust℠ at https://tribalcleanenergy.org/preferred-provider-program.