housing

American Indian Reservations and COVID-19 Correlates of Early Infection Rates in the Pandemic

Year

Objective: To determine the household and community characteristics most closely associated with variation in COVID-19 incidence on American Indian reservations in the lower 48 states.

Design: Multivariate analysis with population weights.

Setting: Two hundred eighty-seven American Indian Reservations and tribal homelands (in Oklahoma) and, as of April 10, 2020, 861 COVID-19 cases on these reservation lands.

Main Outcome Measures: The relationship between rate per 1000 individuals of publicly reported COVID-19 cases at the tribal reservation and/or community level and average household characteristics from the 2018 5-Year American Community Survey records.

Results: By April 10, 2020, in regression analysis, COVID-19 cases were more likely by the proportion of homes lacking indoor plumbing (10.83, P = .001) and were less likely according to the percentage of reservation households that were English-only (−2.43, P = .03). Household overcrowding measures were not statistically significant in this analysis (−6.40, P = .326).

Conclusions: Failure to account for the lack of complete indoor plumbing and access to potable water in a pandemic may be an important determinant of the increased incidence of COVID-19 cases. Access to relevant information that is communicated in the language spoken by many reservation residents may play a key role in the spread of COVID-19 in some tribal communities. Household overcrowding does not appear to be associated with COVID-19 infections in our data at the current time. Previous studies have identified household plumbing and overcrowding, and language, as potential pandemic and disease infection risk factors. These risk factors persist. Funding investments in tribal public health and household infrastructure, as delineated in treaties and other agreements, are necessary to protect American Indian communities.

Resource Type
Citation

Rodriguez-Lonebear, Desi PhD; Barceló, Nicolás E. MD; Akee, Randall PhD; Carroll, Stephanie Russo DrPH, MPH. American Indian Reservations and COVID-19, Journal of Public Health Management and Practice: July/August 2020 - Volume 26 - Issue 4 - p 371-377 doi: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000001206

A Quiet Crisis: Federal Funding and Unmet Needs in Indian Country

Year

The federal government has a long-established special relationship with Native Americans characterized by their status as governmentally independent entities, dependent on the United States for support and protection. In exchange for land and in compensation for forced removal from their original homelands, the government promised through laws, treaties, and pledges to support and protect Native Americans. However, funding for programs associated with those promises has fallen short, and Native peoples continue to suffer the consequences of a discriminatory history. Federal efforts to raise Native American living conditions to the standards of others have long been in motion, but Native Americans still suffer higher rates of poverty, poor educational achievement, substandard housing, and higher rates of disease and illness. Native Americans rank at or near the bottom of nearly every social, health, and economic indicator. Small in numbers and relatively poor, Native Americans often have had a difficult time ensuring fair and equal treatment on their own. Unfortunately, relying on the nation's goodwill to honor its obligation to Native Americans clearly has not resulted in desired outcomes. Its small size and geographic apartness from the rest of American society induces some to designate the Native American population as the “invisible minority.” To many, the government’s promises to Native Americans go largely unfulfilled. Thus, through this report, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights gives voice to a quiet crisis.

Resource Type
Citation

The United States Commission on Civil Rights. A Quiet Crisis Federal Funding and Unmet Needs in Indian Country. (2003). The United States Commission on Civil Rights: Washington DC. https://www.usccr.gov/pubs/na0703/na0204.pdf

Broken Promises: Continuing Federal Funding Shortfall for Native Americans: Briefing Report

Year

Since our nation’s founding, the United States and Native Americans have committed to and sustained a special trust relationship, which obligates the federal government to promote tribalself-government, support the general wellbeing of Native American tribes and villages, and to protect their lands and resources. In exchange for the surrender and reduction of tribal lands andremoval and resettlement of approximately one-fifth of Native American tribes from their original lands, the United States signed 375 treaties, passed laws, and instituted policies that shape and define the special government-to-government relationship between federal and tribal governments. Yet the U.S. government forced many Native Americans to give up their culture and did not provide adequate assistance to support their interconnected infrastructure, self-governance, housing, education, health, and economic development needs.

Resource Type
Citation

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Broken Promises: Continuing Federal Funding Shortfall for Native Americans. Briefing Report. (December 2018). The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights: Washington, DC. https://www.usccr.gov/pubs/2018/12-20-Broken-Promises.pdf

Indian Affairs Mortgage Handbook

Producer
U.S. Department of the Interior: Bureau of Indian Affairs
Year

The purpose of this handbook is to provide guidance to BIA staff for processing leasehold and trust land mortgages on trust or restricted land; specifically, how to review and analyze a mortgage loan request from a lender using a minimum, streamlined, and standardized process. The handbook contains checklists, templates, and other documents to assist staff throughout this process. All references to “days” within this handbook are calendar days, not business days. Additionally, all references to “Agency” and “Region” within this handbook are to the applicable BIA Agency and/or Region. The following items will be addressed in more detail in the following pages:

  • Mortgage documents required from the lender
  • Requesting a certified Title Status Report (TSR)
  • Process for reviewing & approving leasehold and trust land mortgages
  • Completion of the BIA checklist for the required documents
  • Review of the lender’s appraisal
  • Reviewing certified TSRs for land status and encumbrances
  • Preparing the Regional Director’s (RD) or Agency Superintendent’s Decision Letter
  • Recording process in Land Titles and Records Office (LTRO)
  • Actions taken in the event of defaults and foreclosure
Citation

U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs. "Indian Affairs: Mortgage Handbook 52 IAM 4-H" July 15, 2019. Handbook. (https://www.bia.gov/sites/default/files/dup/assets/public/raca/handbook/pdf/..., accessed July 21, 2023)

Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Land Title and Records Office

Year

With the ultimate goal of seeing a time when Native people and nations once again own and manage the land within the boundaries of every reservation as well as those lands that are culturally important to them beyond reservations, the Tribal Land Title and Records Office keeps all records and verifies titles pertaining to the status of trust lands. Having the ability to produce reliable trust land documents and provide clear titles quickly, the Office increases housing options for citizens and enhances their opportunities to secure loans.

Resource Type
Citation

"Tribal Land Title and Records Office". Honoring Nations: 2006 Honoree. Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2007. Report.

Permissions

This Honoring Nations report is featured on the Indigenous Governance Database with the permission of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development.

Tsigo bugeh Village (Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo)

Year

Restoring communal living through Pueblo-style housing, the Tsigo bugeh Village offers "traditional living with a modern touch" for Ohkay Owingeh citizens. Designed to honor a sense of community and place, Tsigo bugeh addresses Ohkay Owingeh’s urgent housing demands with 40 units for single and multigenerational families, all in a modern design that echoes millennia of traditional Pueblo living.

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

"Tsigo bugeh Village." Honoring Nations: 2008 Honoree. Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2009. Report.

Permissions

This Honoring Nations report is featured on the Indigenous Governance Database with the permission of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development.

Fond du Lac Off-Reservation Indian Foster Care

Year

By creatively reacting to state laws regarding foster home licensing, the Band established a foster care agency that dramatically reduced the number of Indian children in non-Indian foster care while simultaneously increasing the number of Indian children in Indian foster care. The agency has successfully channeled nearly $2 million for foster care reimbursement to Indian families in northeastern Minnesota. While the Fond du Lac Government had been able to license homes within the boundaries of the reservation, this was the first time an all-Indian board sponsored by a tribal government had been able to recruit and license homes outside of reservation boundaries.

Resource Type
Citation

"Fond du Lac Off-Reservation Indian Foster Care." Honoring Nations: 1999 Honoree. The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2000. Report. 

Permissions

This Honoring Nations report is featured on the Indigenous Governance Database with the permission of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development.

Chilkoot Tlingit "Nation Building"

Year

Excluded by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, the Chilkoot Tlingit are engaged in a process of nation-building. The process began in 1990 with the revival of their dormant tribal government, the Chilkoot Indian Association (CIA). From this institutional foundation, the 480-member CIA successfully negotiated the acquisition of a land base and began developing self-determined programs and initiatives. Today, the CIA administers almost $1 million of programs and contracts in the areas of education, health, housing, and economic development and participates in government-to-government relationships with local, state, federal, and international governmental entities.

Resource Type
Topics
Citation

"'Nation Building' Among the Chilkoot Tlingit". Honoring Nations: 2002 Honoree. The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2003. Report.

Permissions

This Honoring Nations report is featured on the Indigenous Governance Database with the permission of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development. 

Borrowing Trouble: Predatory Lending in Native American Communities

Year

With the collapse of the subprime mortgage lending market, predatory lending has become a significant national concern. In Native communities, however, predatory lending has been a major concern for years, since abusive lending practices have tended to proliferate more in minority and low-income communities than elsewhere.

This paper provides an analysis of survey data collected from attendees at the National American Indian Housing Council meeting in May 2007; survey data collected from Native users of selected Voluntary Income Tax Assistance sites; geo-coded data of payday lenders, bank branches, and Native community development finance institutions; and a national data set of home mortgage loans. This paper also presents five case studies of promising practices and concludes by offering concrete suggestions about the steps Native nations can take to curb the impact of predatory lending on their citizens.

Resource Type
Citation

Jorgensen, Miriam, Sarah Dewees, Karen Edwards. "Borrowing Trouble: Predatory Lending in Native American Communities." First Nations Development Institute. Longmont, Colorado. April 2008. Paper.

Good Native Governance Plenary 2: The Cutting Edge of Economic Development in Indian Country

Producer
UCLA School of Law
Year

UCLA School of Law "Good Native Governance" conference presenters, panelists and participants Miriam Jorgensen, Robert Miller, and Sherry Salway Black discuss economic research in Indian Country.

This video resource is featured on the Indigenous Governance Database with the permission of the UCLA American Indian Studies Center.

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Jorgensen, Miriam. "The Cutting Edge of Economic Development in Indian Country." Good Native Governance: Innovative Research in Law, Education, and Economic Development Conference. University of California Los Angeles School of Law, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, March 7, 2014. Presentation.

Miller, Robert. "The Cutting Edge of Economic Development in Indian Country." Good Native Governance: Innovative Research in Law, Education, and Economic Development Conference. University of California Los Angeles School of Law, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, March 7, 2014. Presentation.

Salway Black, Sherry. "The Cutting Edge of Economic Development in Indian Country." Good Native Governance: Innovative Research in Law, Education, and Economic Development Conference. University of California Los Angeles School of Law, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, March 7, 2014. Presentation.