Michigan tribes awarded $14.8M in federal affordable housing funds

Michigan tribes awarded $14.8M in federal affordable housing funds

Twelve Native American tribes in Michigan received $14.8 million in Indian Housing Block Grant funds for affordable housing projects, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Friday. 

This was part of more than $652 million in federal funding that went to nearly 600 tribes across the country. The $14.8 million is nearly the same amount Michigan-based tribes received in 2020 from the federal grant program. 

The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians received the highest amount in the state at more than $5 million. The second-highest grant went to the Dowagiac-based Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians at $2.1 million, followed by the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community in Baraga at nearly $2 million. The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe in Mount Pleasant received $1.6 million.

In West Michigan, the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians in Manistee received $291,767 in funding, the Fulton-based Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi got $429,467, and Dorr-based Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians received $191,531.

The formula grant is meant to support a range of affordable housing projects on reservations that could include a housing development, updating existing housing, crime prevention and safety as well as other creative approaches to providing affordable housing options. 

“The Indian Housing Block Grant program supports the commitment of Tribes across the country to their communities through funding affordable housing and housing activities,” HUD Acting Secretary Matthew Ammon said in a statement. “The U.S. government has a responsibility to carry out trust obligations to Indian tribes, and with this funding, HUD is acting to meet these obligations.”