HUD Archives: News Releases

HUD ANNOUNCES $1.8 MILLION TO SUPPORT TWO NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITIES IN MICHIGAN

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today awarded $1.8 million to two Native American communities. HUD awarded $600,000 to the Hannahville Indian Community of Michigan $1.2 million to the Keweenaw Bay Community. Provided through HUD's Indian Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG) Program, these funds are awarded to Native American tribal communities to improve or create housing and economic development opportunities for low- to moderate-income families.

"These grants help to forge solutions to improve housing and economic conditions for some of America's most culturally rich neighborhoods," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. "I'm ecstatic to see these communities using public funds creatively and intelligently to create lasting results for countless families."

The ICDBG program was established in 1977 to help Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages to meet their community development needs. Federally recognized Indian tribes, bands, groups or nations (including Alaska Indian, Aleuts and Eskimos,) or Alaska Native villages compete for this funding. The recipients use the funding to develop viable communities, including rehabilitating housing or building new housing or to buy land to support new housing construction.

ICDBG funding can also be used to build infrastructure such as roads, water and sewer facilities, and to create suitable living environments. To spur economic development, recipients have used the grants to establish a wide variety of commercial, industrial and agricultural projects. The grants have been used to build community and health centers, or to start businesses to support the community, such as shopping centers, manufacturing plants, restaurants or convenience stores/gas stations.

###

HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet and espanol.hud.gov. You can also follow HUD on twitter @HUDnews, on facebook at www.facebook.com/HUD, or sign up for news alerts on HUD's News Listserv.