Heat Stove Project Underway on Standing Rock

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A pilot project is underway to outfit homes on the Standing Rock Reservation with heat stoves.

Attorney and American Indian activist Chase Iron Eyes launched the "Heating the Rez" effort in February after a woman froze to death in an unheated home. The project raised about $60,000 through crowdfunding.

The money is paying for the first 21 stoves, which burn pellets made of wood or other natural materials. Home installations began this week. The goal is to help reduce the reservation's dependence on propane, which can spike in price during cold winter months.

The stoves were purchased from Virginia-based England's Stove Works. The pellets are coming from South Dakota-based Deadwood Biofuels.

Iron Eyes said officials will monitor how well the stoves work and then decide whether to expand the project.