HUD APPROVES INDIAN AREA EXPANSION FOR MIDWEST TRIBES
Action increases homeownership opportunities for Native Americans

CHICAGO - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today approved the request of four Midwest tribes to expand their "Indian areas." The approval allows these tribes wider use of a HUD guaranteed home loan program that will help Native Americans throughout Michigan, Indiana and Minnesota become homeowners.

"This program has already helped thousands of Indian families purchase or rehabilitate their existing homes," said HUD Assistant Secretary Michael Liu, who signed approval documents with representatives of each tribe at HUD's Chicago office. "This approval and the revision to the Section 184 program plays a vital role in keeping the President's commitment to create 5.5 million minority homeowners by the end of this decade."

The Bay Mills Indian Community of Michigan and the Sault Ste Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians will expand their Indian areas to include the entire state of Michigan. The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians of Michigan and Indiana will expand its Indian area to include the entire state of Indiana and the Mille Lacs Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe will expand its Indian area to include the entire state of Minnesota.

Joining Liu for the event were Jeff Parker, President of the Bay Mills Indian Community, Melanie Benjamin, Chief Executive for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, John Miller, Chairperson, for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, and Robert LaPoint, Vice Chairman for the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa.

These tribes join tribes in Florida, Arizona, Wisconsin and Illinois that are using HUD's recent expansion of the Section 184 Loan Guarantee program to increase the number of Native American homeowners outside reservation boundaries. Tribal housing agencies can now designate wider regions as an "Indian area" - meaning tribes can go beyond their reservation borders to assist tribal members and members of other federally recognized tribes obtain loans through the Section 184 program. Allowing the expansion of tribal Indian areas provides greater opportunity for banks and other lenders to make mortgage loans to Native Americans.

Previously, Native Americans participating in the Section 184 program were limited to the purchase of homes on land owned by the tribe, usually known as "trust" or "restricted" lands. As a result, Native American homeownership opportunities remained primarily on reservations.

Under the new guidelines, tribes and tribal housing entities can provide Section 184 homeownership opportunities beyond their reservations if they submit documentation demonstrating that the tribe has a historical connection to the areas to be served or if tribal members reside in those areas.

HUD's Section 184 Loan Guarantee program, created in 1992, was established to address the lack of mortgage lending for Native Americans and give Native American families the opportunity to purchase their own homes. Since 1995, when HUD guaranteed its first loan, there have been 2,159 loans guaranteed with a dollar-value of approximately $216 million. The Section 184 program provides a 100 percent guarantee for mortgages on Indian lands, enabling private sector lenders to make mortgage loans to eligible Native American families, tribes and tribal housing entities. The program can also be used to rehabilitate existing homes, build new homes and refinance higher interest rate loans.

HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities; creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development as well as enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet and espanol.hud.gov.

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