Congress recently allocated $8 billion in funding for tribal governments in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act or CARES Act, but just how much of that money will come to Alaska tribes and when remains an open question.
Navigating the distribution of those funds is going to a difficult task, which is why a bipartisan group of senators and representatives, including Alaska’s Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Rep. Don Young, both Republicans, have written a letter to President Donald Trump asking the money be allocated quickly and in a way that respects tribal sovereignty.
Allocating CARES Act funds will mean working through a number of federal agencies including the Department of the Interior and Department of Health and Human Services, lawmakers wrote.
“It is therefore incumbent upon these agencies to respect the inherent sovereignty of Indian Tribes and show deference to Tribal views, particularly as they relate to the use and distribution of CARES Act resources,” stated the letter signed by 31 lawmakers.
Murkowski’s Communications Director Karina Borger said in an email that in addition to the $8 billion allocated for tribes in the Coronavirus Relief Fund created through the CARES Act, there’s an additional $2 billion in appropriations designated specifically for tribes.
How much of the total $10 billion will reach Alaska Natives was, “yet to be determined,” Borger said. However, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Coronavirus Relief Fund money must be distributed by April 26. The Treasury Department would be conducting consultations with tribes before then, Borger said.
Part of the additional funding for tribes comes from the Department of Housing and Urban Development who last week announced more than $46 million will be going to tribes in Alaska, Washington, Oregon and Idaho. That money could be used for any housing-related costs tribal governments might be facing, according to Leland Jones, public affairs officer for HUD.
“Communities are having to stretch their existing resources,” Jones said. “(The HUD funding) is just additional resources to expand what they’re already doing and if they see the need to expand those operations.”
In Juneau, Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska will receive $1.6 million while the Douglas Indian Association will receive over $95,000.
In their letter, lawmakers urged Trump to respect tribal sovereignty and engage on a government-to-government basis. The letter requests the resources be distributed to tribal governments with respect to, “the federal government’s trust and treaty responsibilities; respect for Tribal sovereignty; and the principles of meaningful government-to-government consultation.”
The press release from Murkowski’s office acknowledged past difficulties tribes had in accessing federal funds during health crisis.
“Given these developments and past issues accessing federal resources for the Zika, Ebola, H1N1 and SARS outbreaks, Tribes and urban Indian health organizations are concerned that federal COVID-19 response efforts and resources will not reach them,” the release said.
Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, Douglas Indian Association and Alaska Federation of Natives did not respond to requests for comment.
