OUR DEDICATION TO

TRIBAL OUTREACH.

tribal contact

Summit Carbon Solutions respects and strongly supports the Tribal Consultation process that helps ensure meaningful consultation with Tribes, on a government-to-government basis, between the Federal government and Native American Tribes and Nations on Summit Carbon Solution’s carbon capture and storage project. As the proponent of the carbon capture and storage project, Summit Carbon Solutions can not engage in Tribal Consultation, which is a process limited to governmental officials. However, as part of that process, we are committed to providing timely and detailed information regarding the project to all Tribes having historical, cultural, and spiritual connections to the areas within our proposed project area.

Since the announcement of the carbon capture and storage project, Summit Carbon Solutions has reached out to 62 different Native American Tribes and Nations to review the project, answer questions, and provide feedback. As a result of those interactions, more than 40 Tribal Cultural Specialists from ten Tribes participated in the cultural field surveys associated with our project.  Tribal Cultural Specialists will likewise participate during project construction.  

Summit Carbon Solutions is prepared to meet in-person, on video conference or phone with all Tribes interested in learning more about the project. We are dedicated to building respectful and productive relationships with Tribal leaders, and providing specific and detailed project information to Tribes, as may be requested, to address Tribes’ specific questions, ideas and concerns.

We look forward to working with you on this project. If you have any questions or would like to schedule a meeting to discuss the project in greater detail, please contact us using the button below.

Summit carbon solutions’ statement on missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.

Consistent with the Tribal Outreach & Involvement Plan and the Tribal Outreach Strategy, Summit Carbon Solutions (Summit) is committed to building mutually beneficial relationships with Tribes, Tribal Communities, and Native American-Owned businesses as the Midwest Carbon Express project (Project) is planned, constructed, and operated.  Summit is dedicated to a value-based approach relative to Tribes having historical, cultural, and spiritual connections within the area of the Project.  As part of this dedication and commitment, Summit stands with Indian Country in responding to the concerns and needs expressed in relation to the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIW/MMIWG).

 

Summit recognizes that violence against Indigenous peoples is a crisis that has been underfunded in communities throughout Indian country and that murders and missing persons cases go unsolved and unaddressed.  Summit is fully committed to partnering with Tribes and Tribal communities to achieve justice and healing for families around the Project by investing in programs and services that: foster awareness of the issues related to MMIW/MMIWG; address issues of human trafficking; domestic violence; honor Indigenous cultural values; educate on the prevention of sexual violence; support community self-defense training; and invest in the empowerment of Native women and girls.  Furthermore, Summit supports the programs and services of agencies responsible for investigating and resolving these cases.  Safe communities are Summit’s priority and violence against Native people has no place in the communities in which Summit serves and operates.

FAQs

  • Yes. Summit Carbon Solutions strongly supports the use of qualified Tribal Cultural Specialists on the Midwest Carbon Express Project. This includes the timeframes where surveys are being completed, the project is being constructed, and the post-construction phases of the Project. Depending on the Tribes’ choice, the company will consider either contracting directly with Tribes for the provision of Tribal Cultural Specialists or hiring individual citizens of Tribes in the Project Area as Tribal Cultural Specialists. The latter option of directly hiring individual Tribal Cultural Specialists may also be carried out by Summit Carbon Solutions’ contractors and subcontractors. If your Tribe is interested in potentially providing Tribal Cultural Specialists to the Project or if you are a member of a federally recognized Tribe in the Project Area who is interested in being considered for a Tribal Cultural Specialist position, please use the “Tribal Contact” button above to reach out to our team.

  • Summit Carbon Solutions is committed to complying with all laws governing such inadvertent discoveries, including the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. Because most of the project will cross private lands subject to state or county jurisdiction, specific state or county laws may vary. However, most states require an immediate halt in construction or other earth-disturbing activity to determine if an inadvertent discovery involves human rather than animal remains, and, if so, whether those human remains are of comparatively recent origin that necessitate additional investigation by local law enforcement. If the remains are determined to be historical or pre-historical, it is ordinarily the landowners’ decision under state law as to how remains are to be treated, regardless if they are determined to be Native American or non-Native American. Summit Carbon Solutions will adhere to all Unanticipated Discovery Plans approved by the State Historic Preservation Officers in the project area.  These plans will outline the specific steps that will be taken in the event of such unanticipated discoveries.

    Importantly, the company’s approach is to encourage private landowners to work constructively and proactively with Tribal officials should any inadvertent discoveries of human remains occur on private land. The presence of Tribal Monitors during all major phases of the project is an important way to strengthen this approach and to keep Tribes informed of what is actually happening on and under the ground.

  • Summit Carbon Solutions respects that Tribal citizens, including Tribal Historic Preservation Officers as well as Elders, may wish to visit certain portions of the project area, including traditional cultural properties and sacred places, that are of historical, cultural and spiritual interest to their respective Tribes. Such visits may involve traditional ceremonies and other activities. The company welcomes such requests by Tribal governments and will seek to accommodate them on a case-by-case basis.

  • In addition to Tribal Monitoring, Summit Carbon Solutions’ carbon capture and storage project includes employment opportunities that may be of interest to citizens of Native American Tribes and Nations.  Summit Carbon Solutions has prioritized the hiring of Native Americans in its contracts with the various contractors involved with the project.  This off-Reservation Native American hiring preference – the first of its kind in the carbon capture and storage industry – applies to Tribally-owned and operated enterprises, as well as Native American-owned and operated businesses.  The hiring preference reflects our commitment to encouraging Native American participation in an emerging industry whose goal – as recently recognized by the Council of Large Tribes (COLT) in a letter to former President Biden – is to create a more sustainable energy future.  Summit Carbon Solutions is actively working with COLT and other inter-tribal organizations to provide more information on employment opportunities relating to the project.  For more information, please contact Gena.timberman@exp.com.

  • Native American and Tribal communities experience asthma at nearly twice the national average—about 12% compared to 7%—making them especially vulnerable to poor air quality (EPA). Carbon capture technology captures CO2 from industrial operations, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality. With over 40 commercial carbon capture facilities worldwide already capturing around 45 million metric tons of CO2 per year, expanding this technology helps protect public health in surrounding communities and supports U.S. progress toward net‑zero emissions by 2050.