By Chris Warren (Winds of Change magazine, American Indian Science and Engineering Society)
The fact that the planet can increasingly depend on clean and emissions-free electricity from solar panels is thanks to people like Deb Tewa, the 2021 winner of the Indigenous Excellence Award. Decades before solar energy became big business, Tewa was one of a handful of people actually installing panels and helping the niche industry prove its value.
For Tewa, that journey began in the early 1980s, when she started offering off-grid solar photovoltaic (PV) systems that would deliver electricity for the first time to other members of her Hopi tribe. The fact that Tewa speaks some Hopi helped. “People trusted us and were embracing this transformative technology,” says Tewa, who worked with the Hopi Foundation to install solar. “People wanted lights and TVs and now cell phones and tablets and hot spots. But we started with humble beginnings.”
American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) is a national, nonprofit organization focused on substantially increasing the representation of Native peoples in STEM studies and careers. Their magazine, Winds of Change, provides a single-minded focus on career and educational advancement for all Indigenous people in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
This article originally appears on the Winds of Change website.
