U.S. Senator Steve Daines highlighted the need to expand energy production in tribal communities during a Senate Indian Affairs hearing. He spoke with David Conrad, Acting Director and Deputy Director of the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs at the U.S. Department of Energy, focusing on legislation that would promote tribal sovereignty and economic development.
Daines discussed the challenges facing Montana’s rural communities, particularly those on its seven Indian reservations. He pointed out that reliable and affordable energy is critical for both economic growth and public safety, especially during harsh winter months.
“The purpose of today’s hearing is to discuss unleashing Indian energy. It’s a great topic. We’ve been talking about this for a lot of years in Montana, and it’s very much in line with President Trump’s goal of securing American energy dominance. We need more reliable, affordable energy. I remember the days before AI, when you meet with the great tech leaders in this country the first thing they would talk about is that one of their constraints was not enough skilled software developers and programmers to meet the needs of these growing businesses. Today, the number one issue they bring up is energy and not enough energy. And no matter whose numbers you look at, it’s somewhere between 50-80 percent more power we’re going to need in the next 20 years than what we currently use today. But reliable affordable energy is critical, not only just to meet the needs of the economy going forward, but for economic development, and particularly in some of our rural communities in Montana on our seven Indian reservations. As we say in Montana, it’s a beautiful state. Grateful I got to grow up there and still call it home, But oftentimes, you speak with Montanans and they say we’ve got poverty with a view. We’ve got to do better here [Montana] in economic development. And by enhancing an all -of-the-above energy portfolio centered on baseload power sources, that can mean the difference between life and death during some of our bitter winter months. Montana has seen a number of success stories coming from important collaborations between tribes and the Department of Energy, the Office of Indian Energy was helpful in providing the Confederated, Salish, and Kootenai tribes with funding and technical assistance to acquire the operation of the SKQ Dam. This helped the tribe create a number of very good high-paying jobs, generating affordable hydroelectric renewable power to sell on the open market. The Crow tribe in southeastern Montana are also trying to expand their energy capacity. Montana sits on the largest recoverable coal reserves in the nation. We’re famous for a lot of things, great skiing, wonderful streams to fly fish on, but some folks don’t recognize that Montana has more recoverable coal than any state in the United States. There’s also large tracks on the Crow Reservation. My good friend Chairman Frank Whiteclay of the Crow Tribe will tell you that coal mining is a crucial economic driver for his tribe. The Crow Revenue Act would authorize a land swap to allow the tribe to control subsurface holdings within their reservation. This would put the tribe in the driver’s seat to make decisions about their own land, a very important word called sovereignty, and provide a key revenue stream to promote economic development. The Crow are also eager to develop hydropower capabilities on the Yellowtail Afterbay dam. The Crow Tribe Water Settlement Amendments Act extends the hydropower authorization with Bureau of Reclamation to ensure that tribe has enough time complete project this is key because time running out,” Daines said.
He noted successful collaborations between tribes such as Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes—who received support from federal programs allowing them greater control over local resources—and emphasized similar opportunities for other groups like the Crow Tribe.
Daines questioned Conrad about increasing revenues from tribal energy projects: “First question is for Deputy Director Conrad: Would you agree that increasing energy revenues no matter source important tribes both bolster economies enhance tribal sovereignty?”
Conrad responded: “Thank you Senator for question yes course.”
Daines continued: “A follow-up on that thank you Would you agree support efforts Congress should pass legislation allow tribes develop own resources whether coal or hydropower?”
Conrad replied: “Absolutely It’s tenant tribal sovereignty tribal energy sovereignty they have right develop what they have benefit people.”
The discussion underscored ongoing legislative efforts including measures like the Crow Revenue Act which aims at enabling greater self-determination over natural resources within reservations.
