HUD announces $72.6M in new Native American community grants

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Monday announced the disbursement of $72.6 million in new funding under the Indian Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG) program, adding up to $2 million to 38 individual community recipients to bolster housing development, expansion and preservation.

The grant funds will be primarily deployed to bolster infrastructure, construction or renovation of community buildings, housing rehabilitation, land acquisition and economic development for the American Indian and Alaska Native populations.

“We continue to make strong community development investments in Indian country,” HUD acting secretary Adrianne Todman said in a statement. “This funding allows Tribal Nations to meet the needs of their communities and make critical infrastructure improvements.”

Native American tribes provided key information to better target the funding and communications about the program, the department explained.

“HUD extends its gratitude to Tribes for providing vital feedback on the ICDBG program through Tribal consultation, which informed the development of this grant competition, from the design of the Notice of Funding Opportunity through our work to quickly complete the application review and award process,” HUD stated.

The attention that Native American communities are paying to their own needs was lauded by Richard Monocchio, principal deputy assistant secretary for public and Indian housing at HUD.

“Native American Tribes are leading the charge to upgrade infrastructure in their communities,” he said. “As housing and community development needs arise in Indian Country, we continue to support Tribal Communities projects to develop more innovative solutions to these challenges.”

The states of California, Oklahoma and Alaska are the largest recipients of the new funding. In California, a total of 10 communities will collectively receive $18 million in grants. Seven Native communities in Oklahoma will receive just under $13.4 million, while an additional seven communities in Alaska will collectively receive nearly $12.3 million.

Earlier this year, HUD initiated additional support for Native American communities through its housing counseling programs. It established a new category of HUD-certified tribal housing counselor along with a new tribal housing counselor certification exam. The exam is designed to include adjustments for “distinctions in fair housing laws pertaining to Tribes and the unique status of trust land,” the department explained in June.