A Sacred Obligation of Our People: The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Leads North Carolina in Environmental Stewardship With IRA Funding – SACE | Southern Alliance for Clean EnergySACE [Video]

Two years after receiving North Carolina’s first electric school bus, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is electrifying its fleet and advancing climate resilience with $4.99M in IRA funding for renewable energy projects.

| November 21, 2024 |Clean Energy Generation, Clean Transportation, North Carolina

In 2021, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) Tribal Council promised that the tribe would prioritize renewable energy and electric vehicles, committing to plan for the next seven generations of Cherokee descendants. The next Spring, the EBCI celebrated its achievement of receiving North Carolina’s first electric school bus.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Volkswagen Settlement Mitigation Plan funded the first electric bus. The application was a collaboration between the EBCI Air Quality Program and the Cherokee Boys Club, which operates the school buses for the Cherokee School System. Katie Tiger, the EBCI Air Quality Program Supervisor, and Donnie Owle, Service Manager for the Cherokee Boys Club, were …