Indigenized Energy, a Native-led nonprofit dedicated to advancing tribal energy sovereignty, has completed its third collaborative solar project with Freedom Forever. This partnership has a shared mission to bring clean energy to Native communities.
Screenshot taken from “Good Energy” documentary produced by Indigenized Energy.
The latest installation, a fully off-grid solar and battery system, now powers a remote buffalo caretaker site on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana, providing reliable, emissions-free electricity to a culturally significant location with no access to the power grid.
This third solar deployment by Indigenized Energy and Freedom Forever is preceded by earlier installations in the Northern Cheyenne Community and the Oglala Sioux and Chippewa Cree Reservations. Each project is meant to create long-term community benefit, Indigenous self-determination and environmental stewardship.
“Our goal has always been to empower our communities with tools that help them thrive,” said Cody Two Bears, founder and CEO of Indigenized Energy. “Solar is more than just energy — it’s sovereignty, it’s sustainability and it’s hope. These projects are helping us restore Indigenous self-determination, one system at a time.
“Many of the communities where we work don’t have a local solar workforce or contractors,” Two Bears added. “They’re rural, remote, and complex environments. Freedom Forever brings the horsepower to make these projects happen in places where the market alone wouldn’t go. That’s what makes this partnership so important.”
And the partnership continues to evolve. In addition to new projects underway, the two organizations recently co-produced a short documentary, “Good Energy,” which tells the story of Tribal solar trainees, elders and communities coming together to reclaim energy sovereignty and resilience. The film celebrates clean energy not just as infrastructure, but as healing.
With more installations in the pipeline and an eye toward supporting the national Solar for All program, Indigenized Energy and Freedom Forever are building more than just solar systems.
“We’re proud to stand alongside Indigenized Energy and support their mission to build energy sovereignty through real, on-the-ground action,” said Brian Eglsaer, COO at Freedom Forever. “These projects aren’t just solar installations — they’re powerful steps toward long-term change for Tribal communities.”
News item from Indigenized Energy