Indian Affairs Office of Indian Economic Development recently announced more than $3 million in Tribal Tourism Grant Program funding.
The grants, ranging in value from $30,000 to $150,000, will be awarded to 30 federally recognized Tribes and Tribal organizations, according to a March 16 Bureau of Indian Affairs news release.
"Empowering Tribal Nations to build their economies through the Tribal Tourism Grant Program is part of Indian Affairs' mission to support Tribal self-determination and sovereignty," Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland said in the news release. "Revitalizing Tribal economies is key to our goal of making lives better for people in Tribal communities as we work to undo the harms caused by policies of the past."
Visitors pose for a photo during this week's "Connected: A Collective Dreaming" mural installation and opening reception at Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico
| facebook.com/indianpueblo
The Tribal Tourism Grant Program supports Tribal economic development and fulfills the mission of the NATIVE Act. Through this program, Tribes are given funding for feasibility studies to research potential tourism projects, according to the BIA website. The program also helps Tribes develop business plans for completed feasibility studies and business plans for Tribal tourism businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Tribal Tourism Grant Program is a competitive program, with proposals evaluated on a variety of economic development activities related to tourism aimed at stimulating economic growth within an American Indian or Alaska Native community, according to an Aug. 23, 2022, release.
The March 16 release reported the list of awardees includes the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, which received $72,672; the Native Village of Chenega in Anchorage, Alaska, which received $30,916; the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians in Hayward, Wis., which received $63,000; and the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, N.M., which received $113,251.
Haida Corporation in Hydaburg, Alaska, and Hualapai Tribal Council in Peach Spring, Ariz., both received the maximum grant amount of $150,000, according to the March release.
