Wind Springing to Life

It’s getting sunny here and northern Minnesota is coming to life. Slowly people are burrowing out of their houses after many months of hibernation. For some, the winter is a good time to catch up on beadwork, jingle-dress making or reading good books. I’ve spent the last few snowy months hashing out the logistics for a wind turbine.

With Spring comes new life, renewal and energy. The thick paper birch trees are filled with singing birds and the sun gently breathes new life into the forest by playing its rays across the branches. Our turbine, soon to be raised, will bring with it a gathering of people, a celebration of new energy. Our wind turbine will power our office and many others in Callaway on the White Earth Reservation. What does this mean? This means no coal will be burned so we can turn our lights on. No oil will be pumped out of the ground so we can charge our computers. Our entire building will run off of wind power and any leftover power will be sold to the utility company.

This process has been long in the making, but its benefits will continue for several years. The purchase of our wind turbine has been a giant stepping-stone of the entire planning. Our Loland 75kw turbine was purchased in California and will be transported by Native Americans, installed by Natives and the benefits of its use will play out on the reservation.

Our foundation has been dug and laid outside our office building, all performed by Native individuals with tribal equipment. Looking forward, we have enrolled a White Earth member in a class that will help him earn a Windsmithing Certificate. It is important to create and keep green jobs in the tribal community. Our goal is that Natives will maintain, service and install our turbine; thus creating a sustainable power source on the reservation.

The winds of change are blowing here. This building, once powered by fossil fuel will now be powered by the wind.