Indianz.Com > News > Red Lake Nation secures first federal approval for energy developments
Red Lake Nation secures first federal approval for energy developments
Wednesday, March 16, 2022
Indianz.Com
WASHINGTON, D.C. —
The Red Lake Nation is making history as the first in Indian Country to win federal approval for its energy development efforts.
The tribe, based in Minnesota, will now be able to enter into leases, business deals and rights-of-way without submitting every individual agreement to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for review. Red Lake’s designation as a Tribal Energy Development Organization (TEDO) eliminates bureaucratic hurdles that often stand in the way of economic development in Indian Country and can lead to millions of dollars in lost opportunities.
“The Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians is reclaiming its sovereign authority to control the development of energy resources,” Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland said in a news release on Wednesday.
“This is an exciting development that will lead to greater energy security for their people’s comfort and prosperity,” said Newland, a citizen of the Bay Mills Indian Community.

Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Notice
Oversight Hearing “Buy Native American: Federal Support for Native Business Capacity Building and Success” (March 16, 2022)
Indian Affairs Approves First Ever Tribal Energy Development Organization
Action aids in restoring Tribal nation’s sovereignty over energy development on its lands
The following is the text of a March 16, 2022, news release from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
WASHINGTON – The Department of the Interior’s Office for the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs announced today that it has approved the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians’ application to create its Tribal Energy Development Organization. The action makes the Minnesota Tribe the first to receive such approval and will support their ongoing effort to develop renewable energy resources.
“The Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians is reclaiming its sovereign authority to control the development of energy resources,” said Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Bryan Newland. “This is an exciting development that will lead to greater energy security for their people’s comfort and prosperity.”
A Tribal Energy Development Organization is a business organization in which the Tribe owns majority interest. TEDOs are an alternative to Tribal Energy Resource Agreements, both of which allow a Tribe to enter into and manage energy-related leases, rights-of-way, and business agreements without obtaining Secretarial approval for each individual lease, right-of-way, or agreement.
The approval and certification of Red Lake’s TEDO will allow Red Lake to forgo Secretarial review when it enters into a lease or business agreement with the TEDO and when it enters into rights-of-way with the TEDO.
The Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians in Minnesota submitted a request for certification of a Tribal Energy Development Organization on December 17, 2021. Through its application, Red Lake requested that Twenty-First Century Tribal Energy, Inc be approved and certified as a TEDO.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is headed by a director who is responsible for managing day-to-day operations through four offices – Indian Services, Justice Services, Trust Services, and Field Operations. These offices directly administer or fund tribally based infrastructure, law enforcement, social services, tribal governance, natural and energy resources, and trust land and resources management programs for the nation’s federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes. The Bureau’s Division of Energy and Mineral Development in the Office of Trust Services administers the regulations addressing TEDOs and TERAs.
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