- Details
- By Native News Online Staff
WASHINGTON—The Department of the Treasury’s CARES Act distribution formula determined 25 federally recognized American Indian tribes and Alaska Native tribal entities had zero population.
The formula, which was used to allocate $8 billion in relief funds for tribal governments, was based on population data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program for Indian Housing Block Grants, which doesn’t count tribal members who live off the reservation. Tribes with zero population were allocated the minimum distribution of $100,000 of CARES relief funding.
At least two federally recognized tribes have sued the Treasury for undercounting their populations. This week, the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida filed suit in federal court in Florida. The legal action follows a similar lawsuit filed by the Shawnee Tribe in June. Both tribes are seeking relief funding amounts they claim they are owed based on their actual populations rather than the HUD data.
The American Indian tribes in the group of 25 included:
- Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida
- Onondaga Nation
- Tonawanda Band of Seneca
- Tuscarora Nation
- Delaware Tribe of Indians (Eastern)
- Jena Band of Choctaw Indians
- Shawnee Tribe
- Alturas Indian Rancheria
- Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians
- Ewiiaapaayp Band of Kumeyaay Indians
- Inaja Band of Diegueno Mission Indians
- Jackson Band of Miwok
- Jamul Indian Village
- Koi Nation of Northern California (Lower Lake)
- Tejon Indian Tribe
The Alaska Native tribal entities included:
- Belkofski
- Bill Moore’s Slough
- Chuloonawick
- Council
- Hamilton
- Kanatak
- Mary’s Igloo
- Ohagamiut
- Paimiut
- Solomon
More Stories Like This
WATCH: Native Bidaské with Podcast Co-hosts Crystal Hernandez and Shauna HumphreysUP CLOSE: With Chuck Sams, First Native American to Lead the National Park Service
Native News Weekly (March 19, 2023): D.C. Briefs
Head Coach Kelvin Sampson (Lumbee) Leads Houston Cougars to NCAA Basketball Tournament Sweet 16
Learn Why the Choctaw Nation and Ireland Maintain Kindred Spirits
12 years of Native News
This month, we celebrate our 12th year of delivering Native News to readers throughout Indian Country and beyond. For the past dozen years, we’ve covered the most important news stories that are usually overlooked by other media. From the protests at Standing Rock and the rise of the American Indian Movement (AIM), to the ongoing epidemic of Murdered and Missing Indigenous People (MMIP) and the past-due reckoning related to assimilation, cultural genocide and Indian Boarding Schools.
Our news is free for everyone to read, but it is not free to produce. That’s why we’re asking you to make a donation this month to help support our efforts. Any contribution — big or small — helps. If you’re in a position to do so, we ask you to consider making a recurring donation of $12 per month to help us remain a force for change in Indian Country and to tell the stories that are so often ignored, erased or overlooked.
Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous journalism. Thank you.
