The home of Eleanor Paddock in Navajo Nation after being connected with electricity for the first time by the organization Navajo Power.ABC News is taking a look at solutions for issues related to climate change and the environment with the series, "The Power of Us: People, The Climate, and Our Future."is pushing back against a legacy of energy injustice and attempting to rectify it for those who call the tribal lands home.
ABC News Chief Meteorologist and Chief Climate Correspondent Ginger Zee traveled to the Navajo tribal lands in northeastern Arizona to examine the work of Issac, and others, who are trying to bring power to the Navajo people. Paddock said before the project was completed that she "cannot explain the feeling" she'll have when her home gets electricity.
"This is also the era of federal Indian policy that largely academics refer to for the assimilation era," Issac replied. "This is when they were trying to create incentives for native people to move to urban areas and assimilate into it."ABC News also spent time with, an organization that emphasizes the cultural and spiritual significance of the sun while bringing solar energy to Hopi and Navajo lands.