ND Native Households are Overcrowded at Almost Four Times the Rate of the Rest of the Country, and Live in Poverty 2.7 Times More than Americans Nationwide

BISMARCK, N.D. – After bringing U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Julián Castro for his first visit to North Dakota in 2014 to view the housing challenges experienced by tribes on the ground, U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today delivered the keynote address during HUD’s first Great Plains regional Indian housing conference. The conference aims to leverage public-private partnerships and provide the long-term strategies that will boost housing opportunities across tribal lands.

Heitkamp originally requested this conference in a meeting with Castro in October 2015, citing the dire need to build public-private partnerships necessary to help both tribes and private financial institutions like small banks navigate complex lending programs and jurisdiction issues, and to help make sure tribes are able to access existing federal housing resources.

A member of both the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and the Committee on Banking which oversees programs provided by HUD, Heitkamp discussed the urgent need to address the severe housing challenges faced by tribal communities, particularly those in North Dakota. According to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data provided by HUD, those living in North Dakotan’s tribal communities live in poverty at 2.7 times the rate of the rest of the country and often lack a kitchen, plumbing or live in overcrowded conditions almost four times more often than Americans nationwide.

“When we talk about promoting a brighter future for our Native young people, we have to start at home – and we have to work together,” said Heitkamp. “When I brought Secretary Castro to Turtle Mountain two years ago, he saw firsthand the severe lack of safe housing opportunities our tribes face. And it’s because of his strong partnership that we’re addressing those challenges head on today. By providing the forum I requested last October, we’re finally bridging the gaps between tribes, private lenders, and federal housing programs to bring sustainable housing opportunities within reach of our Native families. Together, we can help lay the foundation for a better future in our tribal communities, and we can do it by building the lasting bonds today.”

“Every child deserves the chance to grow up in a safe, stable home,” said HUD Secretary Julián Castro. “But as I saw when Senator Heitkamp brought me to Turtle Mountain during my first trip to North Dakota, too many Native youth instead go to bed each night in overcrowded, dilapidated homes unfit to withstand the harsh winters. At this summit, we’re working to change that by connecting Native communities with resources and programs that will expand access to healthy and affordable housing. I’m grateful for Senator Heitkamp’s leadership to help make that possible.”

This solutions-building conference expands on Castro’s visit to North Dakota when Heitkamp brought him to view firsthand the challenges in North Dakota’s tribal communities. While on the ground in Belcourt, Castro announced $6 million in Indian Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG) funds, a community building initiative that will assist with mold remediation on tribal lands – part of which was later awarded to the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe.

Today’s conference works to build on that initial progress by helping make sure tribes have the relationships they need to access housing opportunities. By bringing together tribal leaders, local private lenders, and federal housing leaders from HUD and the National American Indian Housing Council (NAIHC), Heitkamp and Castro are working to make sure tribes are not only able to access resources under the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA) – but to forge relationships with tribes and private lenders so they can both navigate housing and infrastructure resources on tribal lands. Too often, such resources are hindered by complex rules or jurisdiction issues that deter both tribes and private lenders from pursuing new housing projects – which includes home building as well as the roads, sewage, and electrical grid systems needed to support those developments.

Heitkamp has long worked to address North Dakota’s housing crisis in Indian Country and provide safe, affordable housing to families. As North Dakota’s Attorney General, Heitkamp served on the board of directors of the state’s Housing Finance Agency and worked to promote better housing solutions on tribal lands. Since joining the Senate, Heitkamp has been steadfast in her work to improve housing conditions for families across Indian Country, by:

• Working to sustain and improve tribal housing: As a member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Heitkamp has advocated for increased infrastructure and financial solutions to barriers in Indian housing development. In March 2015, Heitkamp helped the Committee pass bipartisan legislation to reauthorize NAHASDA, which supports efforts to provide safe and affordable housing to American Indians. Heitkamp has been pushing for the reauthorization of NAHASDA since July 2013.
  
  
• Engaging the Administration on unsafe conditions in Indian Country: Heitkamp has consistently engaged the President and federal leaders on addressing mold issues across tribal lands. After the President and First Lady visited Standing Rock in June 2014, Heitkamp encouraged President Obama to improve educational conditions for children at Cannon Ball Elementary – a school battling mold, rats and a leaky roof. Shortly after, the school was awarded technological assistance in every classroom, and President Obama cited his visit as the impetus for his Generation Indigenous initiative to help Native students overcome barriers to success.
  
  
• Securing investments in housing improvements: In September, Heitkamp announced that the Spirit Lake Sioux tribe would receive $800,000 in federal assistance for its mold remediation efforts. That funding comes from the $6 million in mold remediation funding announced by HUD Secretary Castro when Heitkamp brought him to Belcourt in 2014 – during his first trip to North Dakota. In February 2015, Heitkamp announced more than $20 million in federal funding to promote safe and affordable housing on tribal lands in North Dakota.

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