According to a press release by the band, two have already been installed, one in the main parking lot of the Black Bear Casino and Resort and one near the Fond du Lac tribal center. The third charging station will be installed in the Min No Aya Win Clinic in Cloquet.

“There is a lot of planning where these charging stations will be located,” said Joy Wiecks, Air Coordinator at Fond du Lac. “The demand for electric vehicles has risen sharply recently and the possibility of them becoming the new standard depends on our ability as a country and planet to create the supporting infrastructure.”

The charging stations were paid to use part of the $ 1.3 million the tape had secured from a Volkswagen trust destined for tribal nations to offset fossil fuel emissions from Volkswagen vehicles, the press release said .

BEFORE:

The rest of the money will be used to replace seven diesel trucks with cleaner options.

“Using innovative technology is not only good for business, it is an honor for the way our people live,” said Terry Savage, Executive Director of Tribal Enterprises at FDL, in a press release. “These charging stations send a clear message to everyone who comes to FDL that we are helping us to usher in a new era of cleaner infrastructure.”

The trust is the result of comparisons between Volkswagen and the Federal Environment Agency since 2015, according to which the German vehicle manufacturer violates the law on air pollution control because some of its vehicles emit up to 40 times more pollutants than permitted.

The civil case was settled in 2017 when a U.S. federal judge ordered Volkswagen to pay a $ 2.5 billion fine, creating the trust. Of that fine, $ 55 million was donated to tribal nations. Any state or state recognized tribe can apply for funding.