Maine tribal communities get housing boost with coronavirus emergency package

A two-story large brown wooden building with an American flag flying in front

Photo / Maureen Milliken Passamaquoddy Tribal Headquarters in Indian Township. Five Maine native communities, including the Passamacquoddy Tribe, were awarded housing money and more through the federal coronavirus emergency relief package.

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By Maureen Milliken

Five Maine tribal communities will share $1,337,985 for housing, awarded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Indian Housing Block Grant program.

The money is part of $8 billion for native communities as part of the $2 trillion coronavirus emergency response package passed by Congress last week. A breakdown of what other emergency relief funds Maine's Wabanaki people will receive was not immediately available.

The housing money is part of $48.5 billion to support housing and transportation. The IHBG program helps tribal communities with affordable housing and creating safe and healthy environments.

The funding is allocated as follows:

Aroostook Band of Micmacs, with headquarters in Presque Isle, was awarded $271,384.
Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, with headquarters in Littleton, was awarded $199,289.
Passamaquoddy Tribe, in Washington County, was awarded $314,587.
Penobscot Nation, in Penobscot County, was awarded $301,737.
Pleasant Point, in Washingotn County, was awarded $250,988.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who is chair of the Senate Housing Appropriations Subcommittee, announced the award. "[These] vital resources for Maine’s tribes [will] assist their efforts to prevent, prepare for and respond to COVID-19,” Collins said in a news release. “The coronavirus is taking an unprecedented toll on communities across the country. This investment will help ensure that Maine tribes will continue to be able to provide safe, affordable housing on their lands during this difficult time.”

Maine's tribes — Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Micmac, Maliseet — comprise the larger Wabanaki confederation.

$8 billion for U.S. tribal communities

The emergency package includes $8 billion overall in national tribal relief money, including $2 billion in emergency supplemental funding for the Indian Health Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Education and HUD’s Office of Native American Program, among other federal agencies and programs.

Tribes across the nation have been fighting to improve underfunded health care systems and other issues related to meeting oblications of federal treaties, leaders said in several news articles. Members of Maine's Passamaquoddy Tribe, for instance, have a 55-year average life expectancy, compared to the state average of 79.2 years, largely because of inadequate and underfunded health care, Darren Coffin, CEO of Indian Township Enterprises told Mainebiz last year.

As the coronvirus pandemic hit, tribal administration advocated on the national level "to secure much needed resources and relief," Penobscot Chief Kirk Francis said in a message on the nation's website. "Our lobbyists are working hard to ensure that recently passed congressional relief bills will benefit Indian Country. Tribal administration and staff continue to work with many federal agencies and tribal organizations, including FEMA, Indian Health Services, United South and Eastern Tribes, the BIA and the CDC to gather information and secure resources."

The $8 billion for tribal governments will provide a “one stop” accessibility for 574 federally recognized tribes to “flexible resources they need for COVID-19 response and economic recovery” and to continue essential tribal government services, U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-New Mexico, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, said last week.

Of the money, $1 billion is for the Indian Health Service, with “significant funds” going to tribal shares and urban organizations, $453 million goes toward the Bureau of Indian Affairs for public safety, deep cleaning of facilities, buying personal protective equipment for health care workers and other emergency personnel, and $69 million is for the Bureau of Indian Education, according to Indian Country Today, a national news organization.

The stimulus package also includes $100 million for the USDA Food Distribution Program for Indian reservations ($50 million must be for facility and equipment upgrades and $50 million for food purchases) and $300 million to the Office of Native American Programs at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.