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Native Americans

RCAC is highly dedicated to providing information and assistance to Native American groups. Our work with hundreds of Native communities continues to expand, focusing on drinking water, wastewater, solid waste, housing and financial services.

RCAC's Native American Programs (2004 Annual Report Supplement) explains in detail many of the services we offer to Native populations while also showcasing several success stories. RCAC's Native American program services include:

• Environmental
• Loan Fund
• Housing
• Other Direct Services
• Needs of Tribal Elders

Environmental

RCAC's tribal water/wastewater circuit rider program assists water operators and administrators in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah to operate and manage their community water and wastewater systems. Through training workshops and individualized assistance, bacteriological occurrences have dropped dramatically with Native leaders becoming better educated in water and wastewater operation and management. RCAC has helped many Native operators obtain state operator certification.

RCAC's Native community environment work includes:

• Helping a coalition of 18 tribes in Southern California set up and operate the Native American Water Masters Association (NAWMA).
• Assisting tribes conduct utility district rate studies
• Conduct waste generation surveys for recycling programs
• Conduct contamination testing, bacteriological and well sampling
• Conduct on-site operation and maintenance evaluations and provide follow-up training
• Conduct water operator certification classes
• Assist with proposal writing and financial packaging

Loan Fund

RCAC's Loan Fund fills financing gaps and serves those traditionally neglected by conventional markets. The Loan Fund provides prudent and profitable lending in Native communities conducted in a culturally appropriate fashion.

Recently Financed Projects

• Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians Economic Development Corporation
  $100,000 loan to capitalize ATNIEDC's lending pool.
• San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians
  $189,000 loan to pay for engineering costs needed to improve the tribe's water system.
• United Indian Health Services
  $1 million loan to develop a 42,000 square-foot health village.

Housing

RCAC provides technical assistance to a variety of organizations that help retain or expand a community's affordable housing stock. Technical assistance is provided in areas as diverse as strategic planning for nonprofit and Tribal organizations to project-specific assistance, such as land acquisition and construction management.

Recent Native Housing Work

• RCAC facilitated a strategic planning process with Northern Circle Indian Housing Authority in Northern California, resulting in a new nonprofit organization. RCAC also provided proposal writing and fundraising assistance for Northern Circle's housing rehabilitation program.
• RCAC assisted Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) transition to NAHASDA programming. Our work has developed Native Hawaiian controlled Habitat for Humanity affiliates that use a combination of federal and private funds to build housing on DHHL land. RCAC staff drafted a standardized DHHL memorandum of understanding for loan guarantees for the Habitat affiliates.
• RCAC provided board training and helped the Havasupai Tribe organize its housing entity to receive grants and provide affordable housing assistance. RCAC helped the tribe inventory and assess its existing housing stock and write an Indian Housing Plan. RCAC also helped the tribe secure additional housing funds.

Other Direct Services

RCAC takes a comprehensive approach to its community development work. Often, our work extends beyond environmental, finance or housing programs.

Examples of Other Direct Services

• RCAC assisted the Tanacross Village Council in Alaska to convert a school into a Skills Training Center. With RCAC's assistance, the council conducted an environmental assessment, negotiated a building lease, recruited a project manager and packaged funding applications. The center will offer building skills courses, on-the-job training through student home construction, classroom space for other nonprofit organizations and office space for small businesses.
• RCAC helped the Tetlin Village Council in Alaska to conduct a needs assessment for a community health center, develop a health and social service delivery plan, and prepare concept design drawings, cost estimates and funding applications. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funded the project while RCAC Loan Fund committed the needed match. RCAC is assisting Tetlin Village in project planning, design, financial management and construction activities.

Needs of Tribal Elders

There are many challenges to providing for tribal elder's needs as they age, such as small populations, specialized and expensive construction and high operating costs, conflicting regulations from various funding agencies and cultural requirements or preferences with which standard senior care or housing options may not be compatible. This RCAC study looks at the regulatory conflicts with the federal and state Medicaid program: Developing Assisted Living Housing on Tribal Lands in Washington State

For more information on RCAC's Native American programs, read our Native American Information Sheet