Seven tribal organizations across the state of Alaska, from Mary’s Igloo to Metlakatla, received over $12 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in December. The grants, which range from $1 million to $2 million, are part of a program called the Indian Community Development Block Grants.
In total, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development doled out $72.6 million for the program to 38 tribes nationwide. The Department of Housing and Urban Development said in a press release that tribal organizations can use the funds for anything related to community development – anything from building or rehabbing housing, community buildings, health clinics, buying land, or economic development projects.
For Metlakatla, it’ll go towards more housing inventory.
“Housing is always – the need for housing, I should say – is always something that exists, both with this community and other Indian communities,” said Ron Ryan, the executive director of Metlakatla Housing Authority. “The community is growing and there’s a need, but the funding level just never seems to keep pace with the demand. So it’s a challenge.”
According to Ryan, the $1.8 million grant will afford them three lease-to-own single-family homes for tribal members.
“And it also meets a need for providing employment for people in the community as well. Since we use our own construction crew, we employ local people to build the units that we get funded to build,” Ryan said.
This is the first year Metlakatla has received the funding, though Ryan said it’s the third year they applied. The competition is stiff.
The other organizations in Alaska receiving funding include the Angoon Community Association and the Sitka Tribe in Southeast Alaska, the Cheesh-Na Tribe and Native Village of Chitina in the Copper River area, the Cook Inlet Tribal Council, and the Native Village of Mary’s Igloo near Nome.
Greg Stuckey works in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Anchorage field office and oversees Alaska’s portion of these community development block grants.
“It’s a fantastic program. There’s a lot of housing needs, there’s a lot of community needs, and some of these smaller villages are pretty much anywhere across the state of Alaska, and so it’s nice to have a stable source of funding,” said Stuckey.
The Indian Community Development Block Grants program has been around for over 20 years, and through multiple presidential administrations, it has historically been a very stable funding opportunity for tribes who need it.
“Congress sets the budget and decides how much to put into this particular pot of money, but it has been relatively stable at 70 to 75 million,” Stuckey said.
The Indian Community Development Block Grants are awarded annually, usually soon after Congress passes the federal budget. The tribes who received this year’s funding have four years to spend it and complete their building projects.
