00E05007

Description: This agreement provides funding under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.

Specifically, the project will be creating a Tribal Resilience Hub, the cornerstone of their cultural resilience campus.

The activities include tribal staff to be hired to interact with the community and protecting the air, water, and land quality using cultural traditions while integrating innovations in combating climate change.

The Tribal Resilience Hub will not only provide career opportunities but provide a place to preserve traditions like community events, teachings, trainings, feasts, harvesting manoomin, medicinal plants, and other traditional foods.

Activities: The activities include tribal staff to be hired to interact with the community and protecting the air, water, and land quality using cultural traditions while integrating innovations in combating climate change.

The Tribal Resilience Hub will not only provide career opportunities but provide a place to preserve traditions like community events, teachings, trainings, feasts, harvesting manoomin, medicinal plants, and other traditional foods.

Subrecipient: Collaboration with the CLBGC, LLTC, and TERO will commence early in the construction and design phases of the hub and will continue throughout its programming and operations.

Youth will be transported to and from the site year-round using electric vans, which reduce pollution and fossil fuel consumption.

The vans will arrive at the entry area (see Figure 7), where an EV charging station is located.

Electric bicycles will also be available for accessing the hub and nearby trails, with infrastructure for parking and charging near the entrance.

The project funded outreach and cultural coordinators will work closely with tribal elders, staff, CLBGC, LLTC, and TERO to develop and implement training and classes throughout the year.

The CLBGC members will contribute to community engagement by using social media to promote input sessions during the final design and construction phases, participate in trail layout planning, and assist in designing, planning, and installation of the edible plants and cultural traditional dye gardens.

Clean air and healthy buildings are a priority for the community as is the creation of a warm entry and multipurpose space that can be used to host educational and training opportunities and display culturally significant artifacts as seen in Figure 7 below.

A detailed floor plan for the Resilience Hub can be found in Appendix I.

Outcomes: The anticipated deliverables include collaborating with the CLBGC and LLTC.

Investments in the Tribal Resilience Hub will create a vibrant space that supports community sharing, teaching, engagement, ceremonies, and interaction.

It will also move dozens of tribal staff members off a Superfund site into a purpose-built facility that will serve the needs of these departments, allow the division to build capacity, and have the facilities and resources they need to protect all the plants, animals, and cultural traditions of the community.

Further, with the addition of the much-needed outreach and cultural coordinators, they will advance our community engagement.

The expected outcomes include the Resilience Hub being a place where cultural assets and historical items can be returned and housed.

Partnerships with the CLBGC, the LLTC, and the reservation community members allows the tribe to work collaboratively with these partners to develop multigenerational educational opportunities.

The Resilience Hub can support the residents in times of need, acting as an operational control center and/or incident command and distribution center during emergencies.

Over time the resilience campus will weave together the fish hatchery, greenhouses, and other resources.

The intended beneficiaries are disadvantaged communities.

Leech Lake Band Of Ojibwe

2 - TAKE DECISIVE ACTION TO ADVANCE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS 2.1 - PROMOTE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS AT THE FEDERAL, TRIBAL, STATE, AND LOCAL LEVELS S - CROSS AGENCY STRATEGY S.1 - ENSURE SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY AND SCIENCE-BASED DECISION MAKING S - CROSS AGENCY STRATEGY S.1 - ENSURE SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY AND SCIENCE-BASED DECISION MAKING 6 - SAFEGUARD AND REVITALIZE COMMUNITIES 6.1 - CLEAN UP AND RESTORE LAND FOR PRODUCTIVE USES AND HEALTHY COMMUNITIES 2 - TAKE DECISIVE ACTION TO ADVANCE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS 2.1 - PROMOTE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS AT THE FEDERAL, TRIBAL, STATE, AND LOCAL LEVELS 4 - ENSURE CLEAN AND HEALTHY AIR FOR ALL COMMUNITIES 4.1 - IMPROVE AIR QUALITY AND REDUCE LOCALIZED POLLUTION AND HEALTH IMPACTS 5 - ENSURE CLEAN AND SAFE WATER FOR ALL COMMUNITIES 5.1 - ENSURE SAFE DRINKING WATER AND RELIABLE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE 5.2 - PROTECT AND RESTORE WATERBODIES AND WATERSHEDS 6 - SAFEGUARD AND REVITALIZE COMMUNITIES 6.2 - REDUCE WASTE AND PREVENT ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION 5 - ENSURE CLEAN AND SAFE WATER FOR ALL COMMUNITIES 5.1 - ENSURE SAFE DRINKING WATER AND RELIABLE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE 2 - TAKE DECISIVE ACTION TO ADVANCE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS 2.2 - EMBED ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS INTO EPA’S PROGRAMS, POLICIES, AND ACTIVITIES 5 - ENSURE CLEAN AND SAFE WATER FOR ALL COMMUNITIES 5.1 - ENSURE SAFE DRINKING WATER AND RELIABLE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE 2 - TAKE DECISIVE ACTION TO ADVANCE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS 2.1 - PROMOTE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS AT THE FEDERAL, TRIBAL, STATE, AND LOCAL LEVELS S - CROSS AGENCY STRATEGY S.1 - ENSURE SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY AND SCIENCE-BASED DECISION MAKING S - CROSS AGENCY STRATEGY S.1 - ENSURE SCIENTIFIC INT

66.616 - Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant Program

EPA Region 5: Chicago [EPA - RO]

Leech Lake Reservation, Minnesota United States

City-Wide

Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants Program (EPA-R-OEJECR-OCS-23-04)

Termination This project grant was reported as terminated by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in July 2025. See All
Amendment Since initial award the End Date has been shortened from 02/29/28 to 05/01/25.