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NCAI Unveils Indian Stimulus Web Site

By Kevin Abourezk

The National Congress of American Indians unveiled a Web site Wednesday meant to provide tribes with up-to-date information about $3 billion targeted for tribes in the American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the $787 billion stimulus package that President Barack Obama signed into law Tuesday.

In a conference call Wednesday with tribal leaders, NCAI Executive Director Jackie Johnson Pata urged those leaders to start prioritizing their needs and designing projects ready for implementation as soon as federal agencies give tribes notice about grant opportunities.

"We've got harder work to get up and take advantage of the opportunities placed before us," she said. "This is an exciting opportunity for Indian Country."

Stimulus money meant for tribes will be directed first to federal agencies and other institutions that serve tribal governments. Those agencies ultimately will have discretion over how stimulus funds are distributed to tribes. Those funds will be distributed to tribes mostly through existing federal grant programs, which are likely to have application deadlines much shorter than usual.

Johnson Pata warned tribal leaders that, while some funds are meant for just tribes, tribes will have to compete against one another, as well as state and local governments, on a number of grant programs.

She said NCAI advocated on behalf of tribes for inclusion in the economic stimulus bill and gained many concessions, including funding for Indian health programs that it had earlier included in the Indian Health Care Improvement Act.

Now that NCAI has secured funding for Indian health programs included in the IHCIA, tribes have a much better chance of gaining passage of the act in Congress, Johnson Pata said.

Another coup for NCAI was gaining tax-exempt bonding authority for tribes, which allows them to issue bonds for construction and other projects.

"It is a great step for Indian Country to get the authority to tax-exempt bonding as other governments have," Johnson Pata said.

The Web site that NCAI launched Wednesday—Indian Country Works.org—will provide information about the economic stimulus package and how it affects Indian Country and will provide information on grant deadlines and requirements once that information is available.

"We're trying to make sure you have the latest and most accurate information at all times," Johnson Pata said.

She said NCAI will provide some technical assistance to tribes on grant opportunities but emphasized the need for tribal leaders to start the process of identifying projects that meet the intent of the economic stimulus package.

"This is supposed to be a jobs bill," she said, imploring tribes to develop projects that would create jobs.

She also emphasized the need for tribes to account for any stimulus money they might receive in order to continue to be eligible for future funding.

"We want to be able to be accountable to Congress," she said. "It will be a win for all of us."

Kevin Abourezk's "Red Clout" columns are available for syndication. Please contact reznet to purchase republishing rights.

Kevin Abourezk, Rosebud Lakota, is a reporter and editor at the Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star. He writes reznet's "Red Clout" political blog and teaches reporting at the Freedom Forum's American Indian Journalism Institute. Abourezk was awarded a Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism in 2006.

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