SPTC Participates in Tribal Energy Summit

Fostering relationship and engagement with tribal governments and communities and industry leaders are considered a priority for the SPTC. On September 27-29, 2023, The University of Oklahoma hosted Oklahoma Tribal Clean Energy Summit and Symposium, held on September 27-29, 2023, provided an opportunity for meeting with the tribal governments and identifying areas of collaboration. The events were convened by Oklahoma State Senator Mary Boren (SD 16, Norman) in partnership with the OU Office of the Associate Vice President for Tribal Relations, the OU Native Nations Center (NNC), and the OU Institute for Resilient Environmental and Energy Systems (IREES).

Through breakout sessions and panels of experts, the Tribal Clean Energy Summit and Symposium explored opportunities for tribes to harness clean energy to enhance energy sovereignty, address climate resilience, and build stronger economies. Because energy sovereignty and transportation are intimately related, topics related to transportation came up both at breakout sessions and presentations by experts. The events also highlighted OU's broad and deep expertise across the clean energy space with poster sessions, tours of laboratories, and networking events with the tribal representatives. SPTC presented a poster at these events, which included Center’s vision, research focus, workforce development overview, and a list of consortium members. Several members of the tribal representatives conversed with the SPTC members and expressed interest in learning more about the center.

“Bringing together tribal officials from across Oklahoma, the Tribal Clean Energy Summit celebrated innovation and sustainability by providing a space for tribes to access information on federal funding efforts and OU energy experts,” Tana Fitzpatrick (Crow Tribe of Montana), associate vice president of tribal relations and NNC director, said. “OU’s Native Nations Center, in collaboration with OU’s Institute for Resilient Environmental and Energy Systems, gladly supported Senator Boren’s efforts to bring light to these important issues and to convene tribal, federal, academic, and corporate interests around clean energy.”