Late last week the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded $55 million in Indian Community Development Block Grants to 75 Native American communities across the country.
Sixteen Oklahoma tribes received $11.8 million dollars for housing, infrastructure, and other construction projects. 14 of the tribes received roughly $800,000.
The Cherokee Nation will use its grant to rehabilitate approximately 40 housing units for the elderly and handicapped individuals. There are about 120 applicants currently on the waiting list.
The Chickasaw Nation will spend $800,000 to build an early childhood education center, and the Seminole Nation will use its award to create a tribal Veterans Affairs Department. The facility would provide a central location for Native veterans to access services.
The Citizen Potawatomi Nation will provide small business loans to at least 10 Native-owned businesses, and the Quapaw Tribe will build a meat processing plant in northeast Oklahoma.
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