1. NAFOA INSTITUTE: INTRO TRAININGS: GRANTS MANAGEMENT FOR TRIBAL COMMUNITIES
NAFOA is currently offering a free virtual introductory training on grants management for tribal communities. This short-form training focuses on introductory topics to help strengthen grant reporting. The self-guided format includes pre-recorded lectures and brief quick questions to assess comprehension. The culturally competent discussions and learning objectives are designed to support those serving tribal communities.
Participants have 14 days to complete the program after enrolling. Seats are limited to the first 100 enrollees with an option to join the waitlist.
2. MUST READ: “TIPTOEING AROUND THE DEBT”
“The latest budget deal will make few people happy. Republicans don’t like that federal spending will continue to grow. Democrats aren’t keen on a two-year cap for some domestic programs, as well as new work requirements.
But for the most part, this deal represents business as usual. The president’s Inflation Reduction Act — a significant climate initiative — continues as planned, including the $32 billion that’s directed toward Indigenous communities.
What didn’t happen was the severe budget cuts that the House Republican caucus demanded. Or the wholesale rewrite of the National Environmental Policy Act that West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin favored. Instead the idea is to keep spending flat for fiscal year 2024 and increase it by a single percentage the year after, rescind unspent COVID-19 relief funds from previous years, and take dollars away from the Internal Revenue Service.”
Source: Mark Trahant, Indian Country Today
3. MEMBER TRIBE NEWS: “HOW THE RED LAKE NATION HAS USED THE NEW MARKETS TAX CREDIT”
“For many people, running out of a staple like milk is no big deal. They hop in their car or run down to the nearest corner store for more. But in many lower-income areas, rural communities, or Native American reservations, there is no local grocery store. Residents may have to drive or walk several miles or more to access fresh milk and produce.
The Red Lake Trading Post, a grocery store located on the Red Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota, aims to fill that gap in its community. Established in 1984, the Red Lake Trading Post moved to a new, larger facility in 2019 and expanded its operations and merchandise. At its new location, the store provides fresh fruits and vegetables, deli and bakery items, and even cosmetics, hardware, and auto supplies. New features include a gas station, a laundromat, ATMs, and a Subway restaurant.
New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs) made it possible for the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians to build this full-service, 27,000-square-foot store in an area far from major population centers. NMTCs are designed to incentivize capital investment in low-income communities. Run through the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, the NMTC Program can provide needed financing for initiatives that will help revitalize low-income communities like the Red Lake Nation.”
Source: Roberta Downing, Assistant Vice President, Community Development and Engagement (former); Michou Kokodoko, Project Director, Community Development and Engagement, Minneapolis Fed
4. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: STATE-TRIBAL PARTNERSHIPS TO IMPLEMENT BEST PRACTICES IN INDIAN CHILD WELFARE
DEADLINE: June 13, 2023
American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children are nearly 3 times more likely to enter foster care, compared to non-Native children. These five-year grants are intended to generate evidence for how best to effectively implement child welfare practices and ongoing active efforts to maintain AI/AN families by funding state and tribal partnerships to jointly design and operate Indian child welfare best practice implementation demonstration sites. The evidence generated and lessons learned through this effort are intended to contribute to implementation efforts nationally to help maintain and preserve AI/AN families and allow their children to remain connected to their communities and cultures.
The purpose of this notice of funding opportunity is to create and implement intergovernmental partnership models to improve implementation of child welfare best practices that are culturally appropriate for federally recognized AI/AN children to prevent maltreatment, removal from families and communities, and improve safety, permanency, and well-being. Recipients will serve as demonstration sites to design and implement projects to effectively implement culturally appropriate best practices in Indian child welfare, including research and evaluation of improvements in child welfare practice, Indian child welfare codes, legal and judicial processes, case monitoring, case planning, data collection, in-home family preservation services, infrastructure, and systems change. Partnerships must include the state Court Improvement Program, the state child welfare agency, and one or more tribal governments or tribal consortia including corresponding tribal court(s). The “Tribal government” partner(s) may be tribal child welfare agencies where appropriate under tribal law or custom.
5. JOBS: OMAHA TRIBE OF NEBRASKA IS SEEKING TAX DIRECTOR
Under the direction of the Tribal Tax Commission, implement and enforce all Tribal tax laws and regulations as set forth in the Tribal Tax Code. Keep and maintain accurate, complete and detailed records that reflect all taxes, penalties and interest levied, due and paid, all licenses issued and each and every official transaction, communication or action; develop a model to reflect current annual tax rate.
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