tribal nations in arizona, colorado, and new mexico in line for significant new housing funding

Nearly $200 million in grant awards have just been released from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the construction of around 1,200 new housing units on tribal lands across the country.

In turn, the tribal partners involved in the various projects are putting up an estimated $90 million.

The funding will also go to the rehabilitation of existing housing units, as well as critical infrastructure projects.

Coming specifically from the Indian Housing Block Grant program, the funding is designed to address the specific need for new modern housing for low-income families living on tribal lands.

In a statement, HUD Secretary Ben Carson said he looked at the grants as an opportunity to “better serve Native American communities through our government-to-government relationship with the Tribes.”

Altogether, HUD announced grant funding for 52 Native American Tribes and Tribally Designated Housing Entities in eighteen states, with half of those states located in the West.

In Arizona, the Tohono O’odham Ki:Ki Housing Association and the White Mountain Apache Housing Authority are both receiving $5 million in competitive grant funding.

The Southern Ute Housing Indian Authority in Colorado is slated for $1.l million in funding.

A variety of projects in New Mexico will be getting more than $36.3 million in HUD funding.

That funding includes $5 million for the Jicarilla Apache Housing Authority; $4 million for the Mescalero Apache Tribe Housing Department; $3 million for the Nambe Pueblo Housing Entity; and $5 million for the Ohkay Owingeh Housing Authority.

Other funding for projects in New Mexico is seeing $5 million for the San Felipe Pueblo Housing Authority; $4.5 million for the Santo Domingo Tribal Housing Authority; $4.8 million for Tamaya Housing, Inc.; and $5 million for the Zuni Housing Authority.

In an interview with the newspaper Indian Country Today, Howard Kurtz, the assistant secretary for Public and Indian Housing at HUD, noted that the housing grant program was a new competitive effort, adding: “We’re excited to see how the funds are used and what they’re used for.”

By Garry Boulard

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