A Navajo Nation-owned community in southeastern Utah, has been connected to the electric grid for the first time.
Navajo families in 19 homes in the Westwater subdivision near Blanding, Utah received electricity and 27 more will also be connected later this month.
The tribe bought the land more than three decades ago and residents have lived there without basic infrastructure since.
Navajo leaders say the next step is to deliver water to the community.
The tribe approved $2.5 million dollars for the project last month and also used $3 million from the American Rescue Plan.
The state of Utah also budgeted funds for the improvements.
Meanwhile, the Navajo Nation also connected 18 homes to the grid in the Tonalea community.
Many of the residents in an area called Preston Mesa have live their entire lives without electricity.
Since 2020, more than 1,000 homes on the reservation have received power for the first time.