New Mexico tribal housing authorities awarded $2.2 million for affordable housing projects

Several local tribal housing authorities are set to advance affordable housing efforts across the state with help from nearly $2.2 million in grant funding.

The grants come from the Native American Housing Opportunities Fund, which the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas, or FHLB Dallas, launched in 2024 to support the affordable housing needs of federally-recognized tribes in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and New Mexico.

The fund awarded a total of $2.7 million to 11 tribally-designated housing authorities, nine of which are in New Mexico. The bank awarded each of the nine New Mexico tribal housing authorities grants ranging from $247,000 to $250,000, totaling $2.2 million.

The grants benefit a variety of housing-related needs, including repairs, new construction and housing surveys, said Mark Loya, the community and economic development product manager for FHLB Dallas.

San Felipe Pueblo Housing Authority will use the $247,000 grant it received to provide down payment assistance to 19 families preparing to move into a new subdivision on the San Felipe Pueblo, according to Isaac Perez, the housing authority’s executive director.

“Families are going to benefit by... anywhere from $100 to $125 each month,” Perez said. “It’s a big chunk of money for our families.”

Zuni Housing Authority Executive Director Rhoda Edaakie said her organization will use the $250,000 grant it received to conduct an assessment of rental housing units in one of the Zuni Pueblo’s subdivisions. The assessment will figure out what the units need so that the housing authority can apply for future funding to complete the necessary rehabilitation, Edaakie said.

“It’s our first time applying, so it’s very exciting,” Edaakie said.

FHLB Dallas is a member-owned cooperative and distributes the funding through member organizations like Sunward Federal Credit Union and Homewise, which help sponsor and submit applications from the housing authorities.

The Native American Housing Opportunities Fund first launched with $1 million available for distribution last year. The program was met with high demand, prompting FHLB Dallas to grow the fund to $2.7 million this year, Loya said.

“The growth, which we’re happy to see, outlines both the need and the funding that may not be available because of other sources drying up,” Loya said.

The Trump administration has cut, frozen or discontinued many federal grant programs over the last several months, in an effort to eliminate what the administration calls wasteful spending.

The clawing back has placed “uncertainty” around federal funding for affordable housing efforts on tribal lands, Edaakie said, prompting the housing authorities to get creative.

“All these years we’ve been looking at federal funding, and now we have to look at other sources — either local, state, private and other funding — to keep our doors open ... and see what other avenues there are,” Edaakie said.

Perez said affordable housing funding for tribal lands has always been slightly lacking, with more than 150 San Felipe Pueblo families currently on the housing authority’s affordable housing waitlist.

“I don’t know if we’ll ever catch up,” Perez said.

Grants like the one from FHLB Dallas help and will be even more important in the coming years, Perez said.

“We’re seeing projections for the next two, three years (that the) Indian Housing Block Grant and Indian Community Development Block Grant are being targeted by the administration to take pretty heavy cuts ... which is going to hurt,” Perez said. “But we’ll do the best with what we can get.”