15 Native American communities in Oklahoma awarded over $11 million for projects

WASHINGTON D.C. (KOKH) — 15 Native American communities in Oklahoma have been awarded over $11 million for projects from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The $11,739,332 is awarded through the Indian Community Development Block Grant Program. The competitive program supports community development and affordable housing activities.

The following communities received money through the program:

• The Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma will be receiving an ICDBG of $800,000 to develop Phase two of a children's licensed day-camp and a year-round residential youth camp on 200 acres of forested land in central Oklahoma. This project is Phase Two — Residential Camp. Phase one was funded by HUD's ICDBG FY 2012 grant funds. (Phase one is in its final construction phase and scheduled to be completed by the end of this summer FY17). The youth camp will host a variety of activities designed to encourage each child's optimal growth and development physically, mentally, and socially while fostering a positive self-image, a sense of independence, and pride within their individual cultural backgrounds. 2017 ICDBG funding will provide the Youth Camp with the development of 1) Six cabins with porch/ramps with twelve bunks each / metal roofs / one restroom with two lavatories (each); 2) A shower facility; 3) Construction of a lake pavilion for an outdoor amphitheater area; and 4) Individual cabin wastewater septic systems and water line extension w/connections to cabins.
• The Cherokee Nation is being awarding $800,000 in ICDBG funds to build storm safe shelters that resemble everyday classrooms to allow children the comfort and structure needed to calm them during hazardous situations. Cherokee Nation will also replace a debilitated water/sewer system in the Tahlequah Head Start location which will guarantee sustainability and integrity of the storm safe facility during inclement or disastrous weather. This increase in infrastructure will allow the CN Head Start program to increase capacity and ensure safety of the children and staff that use these services. Storm Safe Shelters will be specifically designed to meet FEMA safe room recommended criteria and provide near-absolute protection in extreme-wind events, including tornadoes. Cherokee Nation is proposing one stand-alone 1300 square foot storm safe facility with restroom facilities designed and constructed to withstand extreme winds and the impact of wind-borne debris during tornadoes or other extreme-wind events. Cherokee Nation also proposes six (6) 233 square foot internal storm safe shelters rooms attached to larger buildings - constructed to be structurally independent of the larger building - to provide the same wind and wind-borne debris protection as the standalone safe room.
• The Chickasaw Nation will be using the ICDBG of $800,000 to construct a 4,190-square foot facility to serve as a nutrition center in Tishomingo, Oklahoma. Currently, the communities of the greater Tishomingo area are underserved. This project will allow the Chickasaw Nation to provide essential goods and services to those in need. Some of the core nutrition related services that the proposed facility will be comprised of are: Food Distribution Program, Senior Farmers’ Market Nutritional Program, the Winter Fruits and Vegetables for Elders Program, and the Summer Food Program.
• The Citizen Potawatomi Nation is being awarded an ICDBG of $800,000 for the Diagnostic Specialty Care Clinic that will be in the Grand Complex area in Shawnee, OK on CPN Tribal trust land at the intersection of I-40 and Highway 102. The building will be a 9,540 Sq. Ft energy efficient building. The clinic will hire full and part time LMI employees.
• The Comanche Nation Housing Authority is receiving an ICDBG of $800,000 to rehabilitate 26 homeownership units for low- and moderate- income tribal families and privately owned tribal homes. This project meets an essential community development need for reducing the number of substandard housing units lived in by low- and moderate-income families and providing visibility for the home of a disabled resident. With a current need for rehabilitation of 150 plus homes, this project will reduce the number of substandard homes.
• The Delaware Tribe of Indians will be using the $800,000 of ICDBG funds to l construct an Early Head Start Integration Center facility. The Delaware Child Development Program has outgrown current capacity to administer its nationally accredited programs. Once completed, the project will provide care and education to approximately 30 Head Start eligible children, ages birth through three years in four new classrooms - a parent resource room/area, an expanded work area, a playground designed specifically for toddlers, and a safe room.
• The Eastern Shawnee Tribe is being awarded am ICDBG of $800,000 to build a Recreation Center located on 75 acres of tribally-owned land and will include a 2,898-sq. ft. clubhouse located in Wyandotte, Oklahoma. This center will employ four permanent LMI positions and serve as an example of modern economic development in a rural part of Northeast Oklahoma.
• The Fort Sill Apache Tribe will be using ICDBG funds of $800,000 to construct a Convenience Store (3,000 SF) and Fueling Station in Akela, New Mexico on tribal trust land and within the service area of the Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma. The fueling station will be four pumps offering unleaded/midgrade/premium gas and two diesel pumps. The two-year project will meet the Tribe’s most pressing need to provide tribal members with job opportunities in Akela, NM and primarily benefit low to moderate income (LMI) persons served by the project though permanent, full-time employment. Seven new employees will be hired in Year One.
• The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma will be using the $800,000 ICDBG for the expansion of Council House multi-purpose building under the public facilities and Improvements projects. By expanding the existing building, the community will continue to have a safe space to meet the growing demand of their growing population. This Council House was a part of the strategic plan created in 2004 and since then the Tribe’s events have become an anchor for the Native American community in Northeastern Oklahoma. This community centers and the events hosted there provide the Tribal community with a sense of identity, community and culture passed from generation to generation.
• The Otoe-Missouria Tribe has partnered with a Community Based Developed Organization (Native American Housing Services, Inc. (NAHSI)) and will be using the $800,000 in ICDBG funds to construct an Elder Housing Facility. This new housing construction project for the elderly will consist of 5,880 SF in total, consisting of seven duplexes of 840 square feet per individual unit. A total number of 180 tribal elders are currently living within the service area. The proposed housing units addresses an overall the overall potential community need. The minutes of a community meeting held on May of 2016 indicate that at least 12 tribal elders would move into the proposed Elder Housing Facility as soon as it is completed. A Tribal Master-Plan calls for additional unit-construction in the future to meet existing demand.
• The Ponca Tribe will be receiving an ICDBG of $800,000 for the renovating and expanding of the White Eagle Wellness Center in the Ponca’s tribal community of White Eagle, just south of Ponca City and north of Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Wellness Center is approximately 180 feet by 60 feet or 10,800 square feet. There will be new spaces built for the yoga/fitness classrooms, two racquetball courts, and walking track. The tribe will hire LMI persons.
• The Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma will be using the ICDBG of $800,000 to demolish the existing, dilapidated old environmental building and construct a new Social Services building in its spot to provide consolidated, streamlined health and social services at the main Quapaw Tribal Complex site located, southeast of Quapaw, OK. The project will result in the demolition of a 2,250-square foot dilapidated building; and construction of a 4,300-square foot Social Services building in order to increase the availability of health and socials services to 4,972 tribal members.
• The Thlopthlocco Tribal Town is being awarded an ICDBG of $800,000 to build a Multi-Agency Response Center (MARC) and will be located in Okemah, Oklahoma. The facility will be approximately 5,300 square feet. The Multi-Agency Response Center will house the Police Department, dispatch and other first responder agencies and suitable to serve the needs of approximately 1000 LMI person of the community with a Safe Room and Conference Room.
• The Tonkawa Tribe will be receiving an ICDBG of $539,332 to develop a RV Park. This project will allow for 3 full time employees as attendants and one part-time maintenance employee. All four of these jobs will be filled by low to moderate income people and will benefit the neediest segment of the populations. The RV park will be open 24 hours per day, thus three shifts are needed. By creating jobs, tribal revenues will increase as a result of this project.
• The Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma will be using the ICDBG of $800,000 on a public facilities project for a Wellness Center that will include; a new classroom, renovated kitchen for special event patrons, new flooring for walking track and exercise machine room, pool area upgrades to include, moving pump. This project will deliver effective services for low to moderate income Native American and community beneficiaries. The Wellness Center improvements will provide a classroom to host a variety of events. The kitchen will be available for sporting events, the walking track and machine room flooring upgrade will benefit the constant flow of traffic throughout the day. The pool area stays busy with water aerobics and exercise classes, will recognize benefits resulting from the implementation, and will assist the very low-income population of the Tribe.