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Over the history of the United States of America, the Indigenous Peoples of this nation have been subjected to historically high unemployment rates, lack of resources, and a dearth of opportunities.
However, they've pushed endlessly for change, and some of it has come. There are quite a few different types of financing, funds, and grants that are available to the Indigenous Peoples of the United States of America.
These include loans and loan programs, housing grants, and housing help for Indigenous peoples. Read on to find out more about these helpful programs!
Home Loan Programs
One of the benefits that Indigenous people can receive is Native American Home Loan Programs. These came to be when the US Congress passed the Section 184 Indian Housing Loan Guarantee Program.
Check out this article from PowWows here: https://www.powwows.com/benefits-for-native-americans/
Passed in 1992, the program is designed to allow tribes to receive homeownership, the rehabilitation of the property, and opportunities for new homes to be constructed. Many groups are eligible, spanning from tribes to individuals who are attempting to build or purchase homes in approved Native American areas.
The loans can apply to homes outside of tribal land as well. However, this is not the case everywhere. Some entire states have eligibility, while some states have certain counties that are approved. Make sure to research if where you want to live gives you loan eligibility before you start applying.
There are certain restrictions to the home loan program, however. Only single-family homes, or homes meant to house one to four people, have the home loan programs applied to them.
You will also be restricted in how much money you can borrow based on your current income, and how much debt you currently owe.
Tribal Loans
Tribal loans are a special type of loan issued by Native Americans in Native American territory. Lenders who give these loans are always based in this territory and owned by that particular community as well.
It should be noted that there is controversy over these loans in how they can avoid state and federal laws. However, they do have fairly high interest rates and fees, similarly to payday loans.
The loans offered via this method are short-term. This allows them to serve as a replacement for things like banking and credit cards, which are sometimes difficult for Indigenous Americans to apply for, especially for those who are currently living on tribal land.
The point of these loans is to provide small-dollar credit to those who don't have access to it.
Loan Benefits
It is interesting to note that tribal loans can be a win-win situation. They are sort of a two-way street for Indigenous Americans and their Tribes.
The reason for this is that the lender is closely tied with the tribe. This allows the loan to help provide the tribe with some internal movement of money, and help with their economic sovereignty, or their lack of reliance on the economy of the country around them.
This can help indigenous Americans flourish and prosper, even if the country around them may not be doing as well.
Housing
If you are looking for more help outside of loans for housing, there are many resources Indigenous Americans can use to do so.
- If you want to live on tribal lands, you'll need to get in touch with the Tribally Designated Housing Entity, or TDHE.
- If you'd prefer to live on public lands, contact the Office of Public and Indian Housing, or the PIH.
Other Housing programs help both finance new homes for Indigenous Americans and improve the lives and housing situations of Indigenous Americans that already have homes.
For instance, the Housing Improvements Program is designed to help provide repairs for the homes of Native Americans, as well as renovation and replacements.
Indian Housing Grant Programs help tribes develop affordable housing for their members by providing financial help for building homes within reservation areas.
The Office of Native American Programs, or ONAP, runs development programs for housing and communities that ensure safe and decent living conditions for Native Americans that can remain affordable.
Grants
There are two kinds of grants that are available to Native Americans in the US. They can be divided into grants that come from the government, and grants that come from different charities.
These include grants that are meant exclusively for Indigenous Peoples of America, as well as benefits that are afforded to all Americans. Some of these programs are:
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), which provides low-income Americans with cash grants. This can either be a one-time cash payment, or an ongoing process over 60 months, or 5 years.
- Another such program is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This program is usually called "food stamps" in everyday life among working Americans. This food stamps program is a program that provides a monthly grant to qualifying low-income Americans. This grant is used for food purchases, and never needs to be paid back.
Foreclosure Assistance
If you're failing to pay your mortgage and are in danger of being foreclosed upon, you may qualify for foreclosure assistance that is often granted to Indigenous Americans.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) offers a program for foreclosure assistance for Native Americans called Making Home Affordable, which applies multiple protections for Native Americans.
This program can help in several ways.
- One such way is to bring down the monthly mortgage payment to 30% of your monthly income, making it far less expensive.
- Another way the program can help is that it allows indigenous people to reduce the amount they owe for the home so they don't owe more than the amount the home is valued.
- It can also help you refinance your home.
Conclusion
Mostly revolving around housing and loans, the Grands, Funding, and Financing help for the Indigenous Peoples in the United States of America can help Indigenous Americans when they are in need.
If all else fails, traditional personal financing is always an option with lenders like SimpleFastLoans and many others.