Northern Cheyenne Tribal Housing Authority

M. Speelman, S. Chestnut & F. Headswift in front of the US Supreme Court

Representatives of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe spent a busy week in Washington, D.C. February 22 – 26, 2010, with a focus on housing issues and the resolution of the Otter Creek settlement.

Vice President Joe Fox, Jr. led the delegation to ten different meetings with members of Congress and representatives of President Obama’s Administration, including with Cabinet Secretary Shaun Donovan.  Mr. Donovan, who heads the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, visited the Northern Cheyenne Reservation during the spring of 2009 and since then has taken a great interest in NCTHA and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe.

U.S. Secretary of HUD Shaun Donovan & NCT VP Joe Fox

During the February meeting, NCTHA requested Mr. Donovan’s assistance in improving access to housing programs at other federal agencies, including the BIA and USDA, by revisiting an inter-agency MOU that was signed in 2004.  Mr. Donovan agreed it would be to the benefit of all Tribes to do so, and is already in discussions with the other agencies on how to improve housing delivery in Indian country.  The meeting with Mr. Donovan included the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing, Ms. Sandra Henriquez, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Native American Programs, Mr. Rodger Boyd, who has been instrumental in connecting NCTHA with much needed resources over the past several years.

US Senator Jon Tester with NCTHA official Michael Speelman

The Tribe also spent valuable time with Senator Jon Tester, who has taken an active role in his position on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee and is considering support for a bill that would greatly support tribal sovereignty and self-determination by allowing Tribes to complete leasing transactions on trust land without the need for BIA approval.  NCTHA Executive Director Lafe Haugen personally introduced Senator Tester to the membership of the National American Indian Housing Council at their conference on Capitol Hill, and couldn’t let the opportunity pass to kid the Senator about his basketball skills, which Senator Tester took in stride and joked right back.  This positive relationship and the close communication NCTHA enjoys with Senators Tester and Baucus, as well as with Congressman Rehberg, will continue to reap benefits for the Tribe.  NCTHA has begun to leave its mark on the national tribal effort by supporting legislation that will improve and refine federal Indian housing policy, as well as joining in the effort to fight cuts to Indian housing programs.  All the meetings were productive in not only supporting Tribes as a whole, but to improve the reputation and credibility of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, in particular.  Tribal attorney, Steve Chestnut, attended the D.C. meetings to help garner further support for final resolution of the Otter Creek Settlement.  As a result of these meetings, it appears likely that legislation will be introduced in the Senate and the House in the near future.

Award nomination letter from Harvard

In early February, William Walksalong, Lame Deer District Board Member, along with Joe Fox Jr, Vice-President, submitted a nomination on behalf of the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Housing Authority to the The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development. The basis of this nomination was to highlight the success’s that the Housing program has achieved over the last 5-years with regards to the program’s (3) three back to back to back Unqualified Audits.

In addition to the Unqualified Audits, other focal points of the nomination included the Housing Authority’s first Tax-credit project, the funding received through the ARRA Stimulus funding, the ICDBG funding and other grants received through HUD.

This semi-finalist letter is quite an honor for the Housing Program as they have never achieved this type of recognition in year’s past. As you can see from the letter, there were 87 applications submitted to this committee and the field was very competitive with many good applicants who submitted their applications.

The Executive Director wanted to take this time to ‘Thank’ both Board member William Walksalong and Vice-President Joe Fox for taking time out of their busy schedule to fill out and submit this application on behalf of the Housing Program. It shows in a big way their dedication and belief in the job that the Housing is doing. Additional information is needed to see if the Housing Program will advance to the next round and become a finalist. The top finalist selected will receive $20,000 for this award and carry the prestigious honor that goes along with it.

The upcoming issues will provide information on if and when the Housing Program will receive this award.