A
Message from the Administrator of the Southwest Office of Native American
Programs
Greetings to all our partners throughout the Southwest Region.
My name is Carolyn J. O'Neil. I am the Administrator of the Southwest Office of Native
American Programs (SWONAP). The SWONAP's main office is located in Phoenix, Arizona
and, we have a satellite office located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I invite you
to browse the SWONAP
Web pages and take time to peruse the abundance of helpful information located
here.
I'd like to share a few facts about our Southwest region. There are
179 federally recognized tribes located within SWONAP's jurisdiction; scattered
throughout west Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California. The sizes of
the tribes range from the very small, consisting of only a few enrolled tribal
members, to the largest tribe in the United States, the Navajo Nation.
SWONAP
administers several programs for the tribes in this region. The Indian
Housing Block Grant Program (IHBG) Formula allocation is based on the current
HUD-assisted housing units owned or maintained by a tribe or Tribally Designated
Housing Entity (TDHE), coupled with the overall need of the tribe. Indian
Housing Block Grant (IHBG) funds may be used for a wide range of affordable
housing and related activities. The Indian home loan guarantee program, Section
184 Loan Guarantee Program, is also available to Native American families
that meet qualification requirements enabling eligible borrowers to construct,
purchase, rehabilitate and refinance single-family dwellings on and off reservation.
In addition, our office administers other HUD programs such as the Indian
Community Development Block Grant Program (ICDBG), Rural
Innovation Fund Program - HUD, and Resident
Opportunities and Self-Sufficiency (ROSS) - Public ... programs that are available
throughout Indian Country. It is estimated the annual federal funding from HUD
in the Southwest region is approximately $225 million.
Since the passage
of NAHASDA, the "Native American Housing and Self Determination Act of 1996" and
with its implementation in October, 1997, we have made every effort to interface
with the Tribes and TDHEs in a manner that respects and honors the true meaning
of a Government-to-Government relationship. Further, through your support and
partnerships, together we have made great strides to help create opportunities
for a better future for Tribes and Native American communities.
I have
had the honor and pleasure of being the Administrator at SWONAP for nearly three
years. During this time, I have come to know and respect our regional staff, who
are knowledgeable, committed professionals with many years of experience and each
of us are here to serve you (Contact
SWONAP Staff). We will continually strive to provide the very best service
to our Tribes, and other stakeholders who work with the tribes, to help them become
as successful as possible with their housing, community development, economic
development, and other related activities. We ultimately measure our success by
the people and communities we serve and how we assist all of you in achieving
your goals.
I trust you will find the information on the SWONAP
web pages helpful and interesting. If you have comments or suggestions please
let me know.
Invitations and Meeting Requests for the Administrator