Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia Fudge hosted the department’s first Tribal Intergovernmental Advisory Committee (TIAC) meeting. Tribal leaders from across the continental United States and Alaska met to discuss, among other things, housing needs and challenges in tribal nations, as well as funding for tribal housing and community development programs.
“The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s inaugural Tribal Advisory Committee is a result of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to strengthening nation-to-nation relationships, especially during a critical time for Tribal Nations,” Fudge said in a press release. “It is important that Tribes help shape the policies and rules that impact their members and communities. HUD is fully committed to not just championing solutions on the federal level, but supporting our Tribal leaders as they pursue their own efforts.”
The TIAC, which was formed by HUD in November 2022, is meant to strengthen nation-to-nation relationships between HUD and tribal communities throughout the country, as well as coordinate policies across all HUD programs, and advise on the housing priorities of indigenous Americans and Alaskans.
“I am pleased to join Tribal leaders from across the country for HUD’s first ever Tribal Intergovernmental Advisory Committee meeting to discuss critical issues that impact so many Tribal members and communities,” TIAC Co-Chair Jacqueline Pata, First Vice President, Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, said. “We focused on key areas as tribes and reinterred the purpose of self-determination in Tribal housing programs across Indian Country coupled with the needs and challenges a budget that does not reflect those needs. We appreciate Secretary Fudge, Deputy Secretary [Adrienne] Todman, and HUD’s efforts to build engaging relationships while discussing our issues with policymakers.”