As Native populations grow rapidly, tribal leaders are challenged as never before to provide their members decent housing. Expanding homeownership is a huge part of the solution for reservations and Indian areas, but until recently lenders just didn't extend home loans in Indian Country. The Tribal Leaders Handbook on Homeownership is the essential guide to understanding a process that has so much potential but is still in its infancy. The handbook is your guide to the new mortgage programs (government and private), the new kinds of lenders (loan funds, Native CDFIs), and the new energies that are transforming Indian housing.

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Table of Contents

• Introduction

• Acknowledgments

• Forewords

  • National Congress of American Indians

  • National American Indian Housing Council

  • Hawaiian Community Assets

  • Enterprise Community Partners

• Preface

  • A Brief History of Indian Country Land

• Chapters

  • Chapter 1

    How Tribal Leaders Can Support Homeownership

    Case Study: Large Scale Tribal Subdivision—Black Mesa View, San Felipe Pueblo, New Mexico

  • Chapter 2

    Historical Housing Programs in Indian Country

    Case Study: Alaska Native Homeownership—Bristol Bay Housing Authority, Dillingham, Alaska

  • Chapter 3

    Partnering on Homeownership

  • Chapter 4

    Assessing Tribal Members’ Needs

    Case Study: Housing Needs Study—Cheyenne River Housing Authority, Eagle Butte, South Dakota

  • Chapter 5

    Preparing Families for Homeownership

    Case Study: Homebuyer Readiness Program—Salish and Kootenai Housing Authority, Pablo, Montana

  • Chapter 6

    Lending Processes to Optimize Opportunities for Homeownership

    Case Study: Native Community Development Financial Institutions Focusing on Homeownership Lending in Indian Country

  • Chapter 7

    Navigating Land Issues

    Case Study: HEARTH Act Implementation—Ho-Chunk Nation Reality Division, Black River Falls, Wisconsin

  • Chapter 8

    Homeownership Development: Planning to Drive Change

  • Chapter 9

    Home Design and Construction—Making the Right Choices

    Case Study: Green Design—Santo Domingo Tribal Housing Authority, Santo Domingo Pueblo, New Mexico

  • Chapter 10

    Making Homeownership Affordable

    Case Study: Low-Income Housing Tax Credit—Santo Domingo Tribal Housing Authority, Santo Domingo Pueblo, New Mexico

  • Chapter 11

    Manufactured Homes: An Affordable Ownership Option

• Afterword

  • The Path Ahead—A Shared Future

• Appendices

  • Glossary of Common Acronyms and Lending Terms [pdf]

    Classification of Housing Types [pdf]

    Native American Mortgage Products [pdf]

    Mortgage Lenders Working in Indian Country [pdf]

    Model Housing Needs Assessments [pdf]

    The Bureau of Indian Affairs Mortgage Lending Forms—Inter-Agency and Program Mortgage Package Routing Slip [pdf]

    The Bureau of Indian Affairs Mortgage Lending Forms—Inter-Agency and Program Mortgage Package Business Process [pdf]

    Contributors [pdf]

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