Tribal Council approves $5 million grant application for housing

By Danielle Harrison

Smoke Signals editor

Tribal Council approved an application to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Indian Housing Block Grant Program to build several low-income apartment units during its Wednesday, Aug. 7, meeting.

The apartments would be built next to the existing Wind River Apartments in Tribal housing. If approved for the $5 million grant, the funding will be received in 2025, according to Tribal Grants Program Manager Wendy Sparks.

“This is one of those opportunities to fulfill the housing requirements for the community and we need to make sure we have the funding for that,” she said during a Tuesday, Aug. 6, Legislative Action Committee meeting.

Tribal Grants Coordinator Dana Morfin thanked Tribal Council member Denise Harvey for her work with HUD representing the Tribe on its advisory committee and helping to secure more funding.

“That is something that I definitely want to give you credit for,” she said. “That was something that we are very appreciative of, having you standing in the gap for Native nations and especially for our Tribe…We love being able to actively see that change in grants.”

Harvey said it had been an honor to represent the Tribe.

“Many of us have testified on issues over the years and sometimes it takes a long time to see the fruits of our labor, but I will say, in this last year we’ve actually seen a lot of really good changes,” she said. “I feel like these advisory committees are actually listening to us at that table and they’re making the adjustments needed to serve Indian country.”

In other action, Tribal Council:

• Approved a limited waiver of its sovereign immunity with Pendleton Woolen Mills Inc. to purchase 352 blankets. The custom manufacturing agreement requires that waiver;
• Approved final adoption of amendments to the Tribe’s Fish and Wildlife Ordinance to incorporate off-reservation hunting and fishing rights as authorized by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in August 2023. The amendments were approved on an emergency basis last September to allow the Natural Resources Department to regulate the newly approved areas;
• Approved an intergovernmental agreement with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to help develop a statewide climate action plan. The Tribe will be reimbursed up to $49,980 for its work on the project;
• Approved a resolution authorizing the Puyallup Tribe of Indians to contract for the design and construction of the Portland Area Regional Specialty Referral Center Northwest Region Demonstration Project in Fife, Washington, for the benefit of increased access by Tribal members to specialty care; and so that $164 million in design and construction funds from Indian Health Service are not rescinded;
• Approved an application to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental and Climate Justice Program Community Change Grants for $17,043,600 for solar efficiency and weatherization improvements across multiple sites on the Tribal campus;
• And approved enrolling one infant into the Tribe because they meet the enrollment requirements outlined in the Tribal Constitution and Enrollment Ordinance.

Additionally, Tribal Council approved four authorizations to proceed. The first was to conduct a supplemental budget process to establish up to $7 million in funding for the Stratus Village housing project in McMinnville. The second was to approve a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation which would make the Tribe a cooperating agency in the planning and environmental analysis for the Scoggins Dam safety improvements. The third was to approve a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency to make the Tribe a partner in the investigation, analysis and monitoring of the Bradford Island cleanup. The fourth was to submit a letter to the Department of Interior expressing deep concerns over the report regarding Tribal affects from Columbia Basin dams.

To watch the entire meeting, visit the Tribal government’s website at www.grandronde.org and click on the Videos tab.