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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Oklahoma’s American Indian tribes have received more than $135 million in federal stimulus dollars, which will go toward housing, infrastructure and conservation projects, officials said.
The Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma’s largest tribe, was awarded the most, at nearly $37.7 million, according to a federal government quarterly report released Oct. 30. Additional stimulus grants have since pushed the total to about $43 million, said Vickie Hanvey, the Cherokee Nation’s self-governance administrator.
Hanvey said most of the funding will be used for housing, water, roads, child care and energy conservation projects.
“These water, sanitation and road projects help everyone in the community, not just Cherokee citizens,” she said.
Jobs will be created for both tribal and nontribal members, she said.
“To me as a taxpayer, one of the things I’m most proud of is an infrastructure is being created that will last far longer than two years when the money runs out,” Hanvey said.
Other tribes that received more than $10 million are the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, which was awarded $15.3 million; the Choctaw Nation, which received $15.2 million; and the Chickasaw Nation, which got $13.4 million.
Many tribes plan to use stimulus funds for housing, Head Start programs, water projects, summer youth employment and to upgrade health care buildings, The Oklahoman reported Sunday.
Some tribes have received little or no money during the initial stages of the stimulus awards process, while others have received awards that amount to thousands of dollars per tribal member.
For example, the Miami Tribe received $26,626 – or the equivalent of $17 per in-state tribal member – by the close of the most recent reporting period, while the Tonkawa Tribe received more than $2.6 million, or the equivalent of about $5,849 per in-state tribal member.
Don Patterson, president of the Tonkawa Tribe, said small tribes often get shortchanged when it comes to federal funding. The tribe’s largest grant, about $1.9 million, will be used to refurbish about 130 homes, some of which are more than 25 years old, he said.