Watchlist: ‘Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act’

By Kamiah Koch

Social media/digital journalist

In simple terms, the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act of 1996 was established to offer federal support to promote Tribal self-governance and culturally grounded housing solutions.

After visiting several Tribes all across the country, including Grand Ronde’s Tribal Housing and Elder Housing, the National American Indian Housing Council published a video advocating for the reauthorization of NAHASDA since it expired in 2013. Congress has continued to fund the program on an annual basis, but not a long-term basis.

“Every single Tribe will probably tell you that housing is their number one issue,” Tlingit-Haida Regional Housing Authority President and CEO Jacqueline Pata said. “We have a tool, NAHASDA is a tool that we can use if we invest it right and it is fully funded to the level that it is.”

NAIHC’s video shows the wide range of living conditions in Native American Tribes. Local Tribal communities along the Columbia Gorge are shown living in trailers with little infrastructure. Other Tribal communities are shown to offer apartment-style buildings. Grand Ronde’s latest development in Elder Housing can also be seen.  

Several people involved in Tribal housing programs all across the country are interviewed about NAHASDA’s significance in their own community.

Douglas Marconi, the executive director for the Nez Perce Tribal Housing Authority, urges Congress to reauthorize the act swiftly to maintain the level of housing necessary.

“We all know communities continue to grow and when you get into overcrowded conditions, it leads to other social ills,” Pueblo Acoma Housing Authority Executive Director Francisco Carr said. “Without NAHASDA being reauthorized, it would be really detrimental to the community.”

You can watch the entire video about NAHASDA at https://vimeo.com/1098315293/1bc853771b or find it on the NAIHC’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1425540035261629.