WASHINGTON D.C. - U.S. Congressman Dan Boren announced today the award of $5,546,943 in community development grants to seven tribes in Eastern Oklahoma. The Indian Community Development Block Grants (ICDBG) are administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The funding will be used for the development of viable Native American communities, including decent housing, a suitable living environment, and economic opportunities for low and moderate income families.
“I am pleased to announce that this money is headed to Eastern Oklahoma,” Boren said. “These grants are designed to enhance economic and infrastructure development in underserved areas, and they are important catalysts to the development of our local economies.”
The ICDBG program can provide funding in the following categories: housing, community facilities, and economic development. In the housing category, the funds can be used for housing rehabilitation, land acquisition to support new housing construction, and under limited circumstances, new housing construction. The community facilities category includes infrastructure construction like roads, water and sewer facilities, and also single or multipurpose community buildings. Finally, the economic development category includes a wide variety of commercial, industrial, agricultural projects.
Funding recipients in Oklahoma’s Second Congressional District are:
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma .......................................... $800,000
Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma ......................... $800,000
Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma ............................................... $800,000
Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma.............................................. $798,846
Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma ................................. $797,577
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokees............................ $800,000
Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma....................................... $750,520
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