No small potatoes: Federal funding will help tribes expand electric service, irrigation

AK-CHIN INDIAN COMMUNITY — Biden administration officials toured the Ak-Chin Indian Community last week and used the visit to outline new funding for Arizona tribal projects ranging from electric service to irrigation.

Ak-Chin Chairman Robert Miguel and tribal farm officials took Bryan Newland, assistant Interior Secretary for Indian Affairs, senior White House advisor Tom Perez and other administration officials on a whirlwind tour of Ak-Chin's farms and water treatment center. The 1,500-member tribe recently received $44.5 million for water projects from the $2.5 billion Indian water rights settlement fund.

The tour included a potato processing and packing facility at the tribe's farm and an event at the water treatment facility. Potatoes are an important crop for Ak-Chin, which also produces cotton, barley, alfalfa and corn. Miguel said potatoes can go from the ground into Frito-Lay and Poore Brothers potato chip bags in about 24 hours.

"We farm 16,000 acres of our 22,000-acre land," Miguel said. "Farming defines who we are as a people."

The tribe's partnership with the federal partners has resulted in building water sustainability infrastructure, Miguel said, including an award-winning water reclamation facility.

Water is central to the Ak-Chin O'odham, whose name means "people at the mouth of the wash." The tribe has farmed in the Santa Cruz Valley for millennia. Ak-Chin settled its water rights with the federal government in 1984, but has experienced problems in ensuring the water that's delivered is good quality.

The tribe has dealt with higher levels of sodium and dissolved solids clogging irrigation systems, water treatment plants and other infrastructure as local farmers use a shared canal to deliver more brackish groundwater to their fields. The potato crop is also suffering because potatoes require lower levels of salts to flourish than what the canals are currently delivering. Ak-Chin sued two local irrigation districts to resolve the issue and Miguel said the litigation is ongoing.

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Administration officials said other Arizona tribes will also receive funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. The San Carlos Irrigation District is receiving $1 million to upgrade, repair and replace substation and transmission infrastructure. And the Colorado River Agency Electrical Services on the Colorado River Indian Reservation will receive $1 million to continue overhauling power plant generating units.  

To date, Newland said, the Biden administration has invested $45 billion in Indian Country in just the past two years. He said that was the equivalent of 15 years' funding to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for clean energy projects and increased access to affordable high speed internet. Also, Newland said, the Interior Department opened a new office to support tribal efforts in developing internet and communications services on tribal lands.

Ak-Chin can use the help. During the tour, tribal staff noted "low spots" where internet and communications services were spotty.

These and other allocations are an example of how important agriculture is to tribal economies, Newland said.

"Those improvements are going to support farmers and tribal enterprises that depend on those farmers and agriculture," he said. The administration is also invested in ensuring that tribal farms can compete on an equal basis in the marketplace and grow food within their communities.

"Indian people don't need a lesson in how important agriculture is."

Tribes, rural communities and small non-profits see help

As a member of a small tribe, Miguel said frequently advocates for smaller tribes when meeting with officials for help to access funding. But while the two major infrastructure acts provide billions of dollars for a variety of needs, many smaller tribes and tribal organizations lack the capacity to apply for federal funding, and millions of dollars are left on the table as a result.

And it's not just tribes: Small rural communities and organizations serving low-to-moderate income communities also often don't have the people with the skills to write grants.

Help is available through a local economic development support nonprofit, Local First Arizona's Economic Resource Center. Katie McCown, the center's senior manager, said Local First's founder, Kimber Lanning, noticed that funding to address the COVID pandemic was in abundance, but there were noticeable gaps in who obtained it.

"There were no staff knowhow, grant writers or available time to research and apply for funds," she said. So the community and economic development support organization developed a program to help tribal and local governments access those funds.

Local First Arizona has assisted tribes and tribal organizations secure nearly $12 million since the economic resource center opened its doors in mid-2021. And, McCown said, $10.3 million came from federal government programs. Each dollar Local First spends on managing the program, paying contract grant writers and training brings $100 to the state. Local First also helps out with post-grant reporting.

The Cocopah Tribe secured a $5 million grant to build a solar farm to generate up to 90% of electricity for its casino, hotel, bowling alley and convention center. The 1,000-member tribe, whose homelands are south of Yuma, has been proactive in seeking these opportunities, and working with Local First helped the tribe leverage its staff.

"The solar farm project will lower our electricity costs and provide us with a sustainable way to power our enterprises," said Gary Magrino, the tribe's business development director. "Local First Arizona provided the expertise and the manpower to submit the grant."

Magrino said the tribe hopes to flip the power switch in the first quarter of 2026.

Newland, an Ojibwe and citizen of the Bay Mills Indian Community, said federal dollars allocated to tribes will now come with fewer hoops to jump through to get those dollars. At the Tribal Nation Summit in December, he said, President Joe Biden signed a new executive order directing agencies to be more flexible in how Indian Country gets funding. It also calls for steps such as waivers and other means to move money to where it's needed faster. Biden also ordered the establishment of a "one-stop" shop to facilitate tribal access to federal funding opportunities.

"We're getting the word out to everyone to ensure folks like this community have awareness of these opportunities," Newland said.

Debra Krol reports on Indigenous communities at the confluence of climate, culture and commerce in Arizona and the Intermountain West. Reach Krol at debra.krol@azcentral.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @debkrol. 

Coverage of Indigenous issues at the intersection of climate, culture and commerce is supported by the Catena Foundation.

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