Economic Transformation Blog Posts

Thursday, November 18, 2021

The 2021 Tribal Nations Summit: Constructing Modern Nation-to-Nation Dialogue

During this year's Native American Heritage Month, Tribal leaders and high-level White House Officials constructed discourse with respect to issues important in Indian Country. The 2021 Tribal Nations Summit (the Summit), hosted by the White House, was held on November 15th and 16th. This is the first time the Summit has taken place since 2016. The Summit presented a unique opportunity for nation-to-nation dialogue on support to Tribal communities to create opportunities, advance equity, and address new and long-standing challenges. Topics addressed included Infrastructure, Native languages, climate change and COVID-19. Several members of the American Indian Policy Institute (AIPI) attended the Summit.

The Summit commenced by releasing the “White House Tribal...

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Thursday, May 13, 2021

U.S. Treasury Announces Distribution of American Rescue Plan Funds

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) granted a total of $31.2 billion to Indian Country, including the agencies that serve Tribal nations. The bill was signed on March 11, 2021 and directed the U.S. Treasury to distribute $20 billion directly to Tribal governments through the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund. The legislation gave broad discretion to the Treasury by stating that, “(i) $1 billion is to be allocated equally among eligible Tribal governments and (ii) $19 billion is to be allocated to Tribal governments in a manner determined by the Secretary of the Treasury.”

The Treasury held five Tribal consultations on the distribution of ARP funding throughout March and...

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Monday, May 3, 2021

BIA Announces the Disbursement of American Rescue Plan (ARP) Funds for Indian Country

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) granted a total of $31.2 Billion to Indian Country, including the agencies that serve Tribal nations. The bill was signed on March 11, 2021, and federal agencies are still currently working on the disbursement formulas for the ARPA funds. However, on Friday, April 30, 2021, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) announced their plan to disperse the $900 million appropriated to them in the ARPA.

ARPA funds are intended to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the BIA’s disbursement plan goes to address many of the necessary services that arose during the pandemic. The disbursement plan consists of:

$20 million for potable

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Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Indian Country Infrastructure

President Biden announced the American Jobs Plan (AJP) on March 31, 2021 to address the longstanding needs facing the U.S. in the areas of infrastructure, jobs, and the economy. These needs existed before the pandemic, but their negative impact was felt much more in the last year. The great and immediate need to solve these issues also presents a unique opportunity to usher society into the future. The ideas that come to mind when one thinks of infrastructure are roads, railways, bridges, and other steel and concrete structures. However, the Biden administration is working to change that notion and expand the idea of infrastructure to include digital connectivity, mitigating...

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Monday, April 19, 2021

Tribal Gaming Opportunities in Expanded in Arizona as Governor Ducey Signs HB2772

On April 15 2021, Governor Doug Ducey signed HB2772 into law. The bill, which establishes sports betting, fantasy sports wagering, and other forms of electronic gaming in Arizona, received broad Tribal support. HB2772 also establishes the 2021 Compact Trust Fund -- available to federally-recognized Tribes that are included in the 2021 Gaming Compact Amendment -- to mitigate impacts to Indian Tribes from gaming, and to provide economic benefits to Arizona’s Tribal Nations. The signing of HB2772 coincides with the new 2021 Gaming Compact, also signed by the Governor on Thursday.

The amended gaming compacts afford Tribes further opportunities to build and operate new gaming properties. At least two...

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Thursday, June 18, 2020

Assert Your Tribe's Spectrum Sovereignty! Licenses Available through August 3.

The Tribal Priority Window for tribes to access licenses for 2.5GHz broadband spectrum over their lands closes AUGUST 3!

If your tribe needs assistance, contact our office as soon as possible!

The Tribal Priority Window is a rare opportunity for tribal communities to acquire licenses at no cost for broadband spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band. For background information on tribal spectrum access, read our policy overview here: Spectrum Airwaves: A Natural Resource Tribes Must Leverage.

To check for available spectrum over your tribe’s land and to learn more about the upcoming Tribal Priority Window, visit our friends at MuralNet.

More information is available on the Federal Communications Commission...

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