WRI - World Resources Institute

10/06/2025 | Press release | Archived content

Who's Driving This Bus? A Culturally and Legally Informed Approach for Electrifying Student Transportation in Indian Country

Working Paper

Who's Driving This Bus? A Culturally and Legally Informed Approach for Electrifying Student Transportation in Indian Country

This working paper bridges critical knowledge gaps for school bus electrification stakeholders in order to work with Tribal Nations and Native communities by examining how Tribal history, laws, structures, and cultures influence electric vehicle transitions within modern Native education and transportation systems, while providing concrete measures to overcome the complex electric school bus deployment challenges facing Tribes.

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Topic
Cities
Region
North America October 6, 2025 48 Pages
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This Working Paper is part of Electric School Bus Initiative within Cities and Equity & Governance. Reach out to Alyssa Curran for more information.

This Working Paper is part of Electric School Bus Initiative within Cities and Equity & Governance. Reach out to Alyssa Curran for more information.

Authors
Maranda Comptonand Alyssa Curran
Primary Contacts
  • Alyssa Curran
License
Creative Commons

Electrifying school buses in Indian Country isn't just about swapping engines - it's about justice. For Tribal Nations, the road to electric school buses (ESBs) runs through a landscape shaped by infrastructure gaps, complex legal systems, and legacies of harm.

"Who's driving this bus? A culturally and legally informed approach for electrifying student transportation in Indian Country" explores how history, governance, and sovereignty intersect with today's clean transportation goals. This World Resources Institute Electric School Bus Initiative report in conjunction with Lepwe, Inc. lays out:

  • Barriers - the systemic and institutional challenges to slowing adoption
  • Pathways - solutions grounded in Tribal sovereignty and cultural context
  • A framework that provides a roadmap for equitable, community-driven electrification

By centering Native voices and legal realities, the report reframes electrification as a just transition for Native students and communities ensuring cleaner air, healthier futures, and respect for Tribal self-determination.

Connected to this report

Electric Mobility

Electric School Bus Initiative Advocacy Stakeholder Analysis: A Baseline Report

Research August 7, 2023
Cities

Equity Framework to Guide the Electric School Bus Initiative

Research January 27, 2023

Projects

  • Electric School Bus Initiative

    Collaborating to equitably electrify the U.S. school bus fleet.

    Launch PlatformLaunch PlatformVisit Project
    Part of Cities

Primary Contacts

  • Alyssa Curran

    E-Mobility Financial Solutions and Equity Research Associate, WRI U.S. Polsky Energy Center

WRI - World Resources Institute published this content on October 06, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on October 08, 2025 at 20:10 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]