Red Cloud Renewable (RCR) became a nonprofit organization in 2017, but this movement began long before that—born from a deep commitment to care for our people and our homelands.

In the early 2000s, our founder, Chief Henry Red Cloud, began building solar air furnaces to help Lakota families stay warm through the winter. Heating bills on the reservation were—and still are—outrageously high, and too many of our elders were forced to choose between staying warm and putting food on the table. These solar furnaces were a way to honor our traditional responsibility: to look out for one another and protect the generations.

From there, this work grew. Chief Red Cloud started Lakota Solar Enterprises—one of the first Native-owned renewable energy companies in the country. As more relatives from different Nations heard about the work, they began to ask, “Can you teach us how to do this too?” So with the help of our friends and partners, including Re-Member, the old workshop building was expanded to include dorms, a kitchen, and space for learning and sharing knowledge. That building would become the Sacred Earth Lodge, a home base for Indigenous-led solar training and connection.

Later, the Red Cloud Renewable Energy Center (RCREC) was established right here on Pine Ridge, deepening the roots of this effort and giving Native communities from all across Turtle Island a place to come together and learn skills that would help their people.

Today, Red Cloud Renewable continues to walk this path. We train Native students in solar energy, weatherization, and energy efficiency—hands-on skills that save lives, reduce costs, and protect Unčí Makȟá, our Grandmother Earth. We’ve helped install over 1,200 solar furnaces in Native homes, and we’re just getting started.

Because this work isn’t just about energy. It’s about sovereignty. It’s about healing. And it’s about coming back to our original instructions: to take care of one another, to live in balance, and to make a good path for the generations to come.