How Tribal Nations Are Charging Ahead with Electric School Buses

“The kids love it!" exclaimed Katie Tiger, the electric school bus project manager for school transportation fleet operator Cherokee Boys Club. What started as a single pilot, when the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians' deployed its first electric school bus in 2022 has become a transportation transformation. Now, three years later, Cherokee Central Schools in North Carolina is on track to have a fully electrified fleet by the end of the year, which will give all its students a clean and quiet ride.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is among a growing list of tribal nations and Native communities leading the way in the U.S. on school bus electrification. This is particularly important, as data shows that Native children have higher rates of asthma, face longer routes to school and are more likely to ride the school bus than other non-Native students — all concerns associated with emissions from riding diesel buses.

Without the tailpipe exhaust that emits harmful air pollutants, electric school buses offer a better path than diesel buses, with advantages for air quality, health, climate and long-term costs. Electric buses are also responsible for the lowest greenhouse gas emissions of any school bus type, even when accounting for emissions from the generation of electric power.

State of Play: Electric School Buses Serving Indian Country

As of July 2025, over 400, or about 3%, of the approximately 14,000 electric school buses nationwide serve tribal nations and Native communities across 70 school districts.

Cherokee Nation was the first tribe to transition to electric school buses, with Sequoyah High School in Oklahoma deploying its first electric school bus in 2021 after receiving funding from several sources including a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2018. By the end of 2025, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will be the first tribal nation to fully transition its school bus fleet with all 21 of their school buses running electric.

While motivations among tribal nations and Native communities to transition their school bus fleets to electric may vary, each brings benefits for their community. Here we spotlight how four school districts have made that transition.

Cherokee Central Schools

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Cherokee Boys Club electrified Cherokee Central Schools' fleet as part of their commitment to environmental conservation and to support a tribal resolution prioritizing renewable energy goals. They chose electric school buses over propane-burning alternatives for environmental benefits and because the new bus technology would bring workforce opportunities to their community.  

In addition to students noting the lack of diesel fumes and drivers praising the quiet rides, the transition has yielded substantial economic benefits, such as $300 to $500 in fuel savings per electric bus each month and reduced maintenance costs. It has also supported community resiliency as demonstrated this past summer when their electric school buses provided power back to their electric utility, Duke Energy, helping reduce grid strain during heat waves.

It also fostered workforce development opportunities, with three Cherokee Boys Club technicians receiving specialized high-voltage training from the dealer and bus manufacturer. Cherokee Boys Club Service Manager Donnie Owle and Master Technician Cliff Cochran also provided high school interns with hands-on electric vehicle (EV) training experience — including converting golf carts to solar electric — preparing community members for participation in the green economy.

Despite these successes, there were some challenges. Because the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean School Bus Program limits eligibility to certain types of applicants, nonprofit school transportation providers like the Cherokee Boys Club could not apply directly. Instead, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians had to set up complex arrangements to channel grant funds, which added administrative difficulty to the process. In addition, in the early stages of the transition, the Cherokee Boys Club was surprised by the high infrastructure costs for necessary upgrades for EV charger installation. While they were able to work with their partner Duke Energy to cover these expenses, other school districts may need to budget for these upgrades. Districts may also be able to limit power demands by adopting practices such as managed charging.

Sipayik Elementary School (Maine Indian Education)

Maine Indian Education, through EPA's 2023 Clean School Bus Program rebate, electrified the three buses serving Sipayik Elementary, which educates Passamaquoddy Tribe’s youth who live on the Pleasant Point (Sipayik) Reservation (sharing geography with Maine).

Sipayik Elementary’s transition was motivated by Maine Indian Education’s desire to address high respiratory disease rates among the Passamaquoddy community and reduce emissions and operational costs. The outcomes exceeded expectations with an 80% reduction in Maine Indian Education’s energy costs, 60% reduced maintenance expenses and approximately 25 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per bus avoided each year. The school district intends to reinvest its cost savings into school programs.

One of the project's most striking aspects lies in the integration of Passamaquoddy cultural values throughout the electrification effort. Instead of the vehicles’ safety feature playing default warning sounds to compensate for the buses’ silent operation, the buses play a traditional Passamaquoddy travel song recorded by tribal elder Wayne Newell during slow speeds. This fusion of language preservation with transportation modernization marks the beginning of Maine Indian Education’s broader vision to integrate cultural education with a curriculum that includes lessons on sustainability, science, math, language, and social sciences.

Listen to a traditional Passamaquoddy travel song performed by tribal elder Wayne Newell:

Shawnee Public Schools

Shawnee Public Schools, which serves students from the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Choctaw Nation, Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Absentee Shawnee Tribe, Sac & Fox Nation, Kickapoo Tribe, Iowa Nation (Baxoje) and Seminole Tribe, pursued electrification for financial savings and air quality benefits. Transitioning half of their fleet delivered immediate results: $40,900 in fuel cost savings during the 2024-2025 school year, plus significant maintenance savings.

Shawnee has also seen benefits to the student experience onboard electric school buses due to their quiet rides. By assigning the quieter electric school buses to routes with higher rates of behavioral issues, the district saw a nearly 50% drop in reported incidents between the 2022–2023 and 2024–2025 school years, and drivers noticed that students with sensory sensitivities were more comfortable riding again. At a time when school districts nationwide are struggling to recruit drivers, Shawnee’s electric buses sparked strong interest from diesel bus drivers; many requested the cleaner, quieter electric buses, helping the district retain staff and ease short-term staffing pressure.

Shawnee faced unexpected challenges during their electric school bus transition, particularly with unreliable chargers. But the school district worked closely with their charging company, who replaced the original chargers with four new charger units, fully resolving the issue.

Endazhi-Nitaawiging Charter School

Endazhi-Nitaawiging in Red Lake Nation (sharing geography with Minnesota) is a charter school with the mission of providing their children with an Ojibwe language immersion education grounded in Ojibwe values that is academically rigorous and celebrates Indigenous culture. 

Endazhi-Nitaawiging received its electric school buses through funding awarded to Electric Nation, a joint initiative between Red Lake Nation and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office.

The motivation for piloting electric school buses stemmed from the desire to provide a clean ride for the high percentage of students whose ride to and from school in this rural community can sometimes take more than an hour. Switching from diesel to electric was viewed as an essential step toward reducing pollution and protecting student health. The benefits soon extended beyond cleaner air. The buses helped spark community-wide interest in renewable energy and electric vehicles, aligning with Red Lake Nation’s broader goals of energy sovereignty and self-determination.

Getting the project underway was the most significant hurdle for the school. Navigating an unfamiliar industry, identifying manufacturers and building the right partnerships required persistence and teamwork. Those early challenges are now giving way to momentum, as the success of the pilot has encouraged other tribal schools and leaders to pursue electric buses of their own. For these communities, electric school buses are more than just a cleaner mode of transportation, they represent a pathway to healthier commutes, stronger communities and greater control over their energy future.

In addition to Endazhi-Nitaawiging's electric school bus deployment, Red Lake Schools, a public school operating within Red Lake Nation, has electrified their school bus fleet through a Clean School Bus Program award.

Lessons Learned

Tribal schools that have begun the transition from diesel to electric school buses emphasize that success depends on careful preparation, strong relationships and community engagement. Their experiences point to common strategies that can help other districts and those working alongside them to navigate the opportunities and challenges of electrification:

• Start early. Allow ample time for community input, infrastructure assessments and grant applications.
• Build strong partnerships. Work closely with utility companies, vendors and community stakeholders, and prioritize collaboration with established manufacturers to ensure security and expertise throughout the deployment process.
• Plan thoroughly. Develop clear route deployment strategies, reliable maintenance services and comprehensive training programs for staff.
• Document and engage. Collect evidence of community support and assess health impacts to strengthen the case for electric buses and keep transitions people-centered.
• Honor culture and inspire youth. Incorporate cultural practices, such as blessing ceremonies with community elders, and create opportunities for students to serve as advocates and leaders in clean transportation.
• Know the market. Become familiar with the range of electric bus manufactures early on to avoid delays and confusion during deployment.

Tribal nations are proving that the shift to electric school buses is far more than a technological change. By embracing cleaner transportation, they are strengthening community health, reinforcing cultural values and building partnerships that will carry forward for generations. Although tribal schools currently represent only a small share of electric bus adoption nationwide, the experiences of Cherokee Central Schools, Sipayik Elementary School, Shawnee Public Schools and Endazhi-Netaawiging demonstrates what is possible when communities lead with vision and determination.

Each new electric bus on the road reflects progress and a step toward self-determination. For some tribal nations, including the ones mentioned here, that means embracing electrification, using their current fleet or choosing a different technology. What matters most is that the decision rests with tribal governments to ensure that the future of Native students and their communities is shaped by their own sovereignty and sustainable vision for generations to come.

To find out more about transitioning electric school buses within tribal nations and Native communities, check out these resources:

• Who's Driving This Bus? A Culturally and Legally Informed Approach for Electrifying Student Transportation in Indian Country
• Native Students Need Equitable Access to Clean Rides to School
• How a Rural, Tribal School Electrified Their School Bus Fleet
• Building Resilience with Electric School Buses in Rural Oklahoma
• How North Carolina's Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Is Planning for Seven Generations of Sustainability