United Houma Nation launches grant program to support Indigenous Ida victims
29th August 2022 · 0 Comments
By Ryan Whirty
Contributing Writer
With the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Ida approaching bringing with it reminders of the devastation it wrought in southeastern Louisiana, an Indigenous tribe in the region has launched a $100,000 grant program aimed at supporting the hundreds of Native residents who continue to fall through the cracks of the government’s patchwork, insufficient relief system.
The tribal rolls of the United Houma Nation – which has its headquarters based in Golden Meadow, La., in Lafourche Parish but overall covers more than 4,500 square miles across six parishes – includes about 17,000 people, but because the federal government doesn’t recognize the nation as an official tribe, the Houma people, and several other Louisiana tribes, have historically not had access to many federal programs designed to assist Indigenous citizens in America. (However, the nation has been officially recognized by the state of Louisiana since 1972.)
Such challenges have been acutely exacerbated by the disastrous effects of Ida among a population that for centuries has been forced from its ancestral homelands, robbed of natural resources, stripped of their culture and burdened with the economic obstacles that have kept many Indigenous people in poverty.
As a result of the compounded impacts placed on its citizens by last year’s hurricane, the United Houma Nation has used thousands of dollars of donations from individuals and corporate sources to offer the $100,000 in mini-grants to its residents.
“What we’re looking at is being able to serve those most in need and catch those falling through the cracks,” said UHN tribal administrator Lanor Curole.
The application deadline for the initial funding cycle ended Friday, August 19. Under the program, 100 recipients will each be given $1,000 that must be spent on the recipient’s rebuilding needs. Although Houma nation officials anticipated that they’ll receive more applications than what can be funded through the initial round, officials are very hopeful that additional rounds of funding will become available in the near future.
“Depending on how the donations flow, there could be several more disbursements,” Curole said.
According to the Houma Nation website, in order to be eligible for the mini-grants, applicants and their families must use the funds “towards the purchase or contracting of a service that will assist the family with securing their home closer to livable conditions.”
Typically, such spending can go toward buying building materials, contractor work, or deposits for the home, furniture, appliances or other items in the home. The mini-grants cannot be used on rent, utility expenses, recreational items or vehicles, and the grant money will not go directly to the recipient. Instead, the recipients will identify targeted spending, and the UHN will expend the funds and procure the items directly.
Applications will be reviewed by the UHM’s Case Management staff in consultation with the nation’s Tribal Security Council, and each of the nation’s tribal districts will be equally represented in the funding distribution process. Applicants will be rated under a predetermined point system that considers factors like family size, severity of damage to the home, family living conditions and current livability of the home, age, disability and other variables.
Applicants not selected to receive grants will have their application kept on file with the nation so the applicants won’t have to undertake the application process again.
Curole said once the applicants have been evaluated and selected, UHN case managers will help them allot the grant money as well as assist them in finding additional funding for expenses that exceed the $1,000 of the mini-grant. She stressed the importance of helping struggling recipients not just during the initial process, but also providing ongoing, long-range support to help residents maintain recovery over the long term.
Of particular focus in the mini-grant program are fishermen and women whose livelihoods depend on the region’s bodies of water and aquatic resources. The application process specifically asks about any potential needs stemming from the impacts on such families’ income and survival.
Ironically, many of the Indigenous inhabitants of the lower, coastal parishes are located there because their ancestors were forced off their original homelands and thus forced to make their livings and survive in areas that are environmentally delicate and endangered by the forces of nature. Curole said those residents are also particularly exposed to high wind volumes, making hurricanes even more destructive for them.
In addition, she said the UHN’s elder residents, many of whom are on government assistance and thus have limited incomes, are also especially exposed to the environmental and economic devastation of Ida, other hurricanes and additional threats from nature.
Curole said that seniors don’t have the option of moving to more stable living situations, with many of them having to reside in campers or FEMA trailers. She noted that beginning in January, residents of FEMA trailers will possibly be required to pay rent, an expense hundreds of seniors and other vulnerable residents can’t meet because of limited incomes, caps on federal assistance post-Ida and other financial restrictions.
This article originally published in the August 29, 2022 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
