WASHINGTON — In addition to articles already covered by Native News Online, here is a roundup of other news released from Washington, D.C. that impacts Indian Country recently.
Bill Would Help Redirect Unused Housing Vouchers to Tribal Communities
U.S. Representatives Sharice Davids (D-KS) has introduced bipartisan legislation to improve the distribution of unused housing vouchers through the Tribal HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program. The bill would allow Tribes to voluntarily return vouchers they do not expect to use so the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) can redirect them to Tribal communities with greater demand for housing assistance.
“Tribal Nations know best what their communities and veterans need, and respecting Tribal sovereignty means giving them the flexibility and resources to meet those needs,” said Davids, a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin. Crane said the legislation would address a longstanding problem in which some Tribes have unused vouchers while others lack sufficient resources to house veterans. The bill aims to make better use of existing federal assistance without expanding the federal government’s programs, he said.
Native American veterans experience some of the highest rates of homelessness in the United States. Congress established the Tribal HUD-VASH demonstration program to provide rental assistance and supportive services to Native veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Although the program has helped veterans secure stable housing, the lack of a clear process for returning unused vouchers or requesting additional ones has left assistance unavailable to some communities while veterans elsewhere wait for help.
Bureau of Indian Education Selects First Student Advisory Board
The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) has selected six students to serve on its first-ever Student Advisory Board for the 2026–2027 academic year. The board will provide a formal avenue for students from Bureau-operated schools, Navajo schools, tribally controlled schools and postsecondary institutions to share their perspectives with BIE leadership and help shape education policies, programs and school improvement efforts.
The board members are Shya Reynolds of Riverside Indian School in Anadarko, Oklahoma; Adrianna Martinez-Pablo of Navajo Preparatory School in Farmington, New Mexico; Cameron Atwell of Sequoyah High School in Tahlequah, Oklahoma; Caleb Secatero of Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico; J’Den Nichols of Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas; and Thurman Lynch of Tohono O’odham Community College in Sells, Arizona. Three representatives come from postsecondary institutions, while the others represent different types of BIE-funded schools.
BIE Director Tony Dearman said the inaugural board will also help establish a lasting role for student perspectives in the bureau’s decision-making and shape how future advisory boards operate.
FEMA Funds Approved Disaster Declaration for Zuni Pueblo Flood Recovery
FEMA approved a Major Disaster Declaration for the Pueblo of Zuni in New Mexico on Oct. 7, providing federal assistance to help the Tribe recover from severe storms and flash flooding that occurred July 16–28, 2026. The declaration makes the Pueblo eligible for Individual Assistance and all categories of Public Assistance to support affected families, repair public infrastructure and restore damaged cultural and historic sites.
The storms and flooding damaged seven ceremonial trails and multiple culturally significant locations, threatening ancestral, ceremonial and historic resources central to Zuni cultural heritage. The flooding also damaged public infrastructure and private property, overwhelming the Tribe’s resources to respond and recover.
The approval followed an Oct. 6 letter from New Mexico’s congressional delegation, including U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján and U.S. Reps. Teresa Leger Fernández, Melanie Stansbury and Gabe Vasquez, urging Trump to approve the request. The delegation said the severity of the flooding required additional federal assistance to help the Pueblo recover.
