Contacts: La Jaycee Brown, (202) 720-9741
ljbrown@rdmail.rural.usda.gov
Dan Campbell (202), 720-6483
dan.campbell@usda.gov
Home Loan Guarantee for Native American Family Is First Under USDA and Fannie Mae Effort
WASHINGTON, July 26, 1999 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved a loan guarantee that will enable a Native American family living on a reservation to buy a home. The loan guarantee is the first to be issued under the Rural Housing Native American Pilot (RHNAP) program, a joint effort of the Rural Housing Service of USDA Rural Development and Fannie Mae, a private company and the nation's largest source of financing for home mortgages, to increase homeownership levels among Native Americans living on tribal lands.
USDA Rural Development is guaranteeing a $67,873 loan that will allow a family of four to purchase a new home on tribal land in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The loan is being issued by Central Savings Bank in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
"Today marks a milestone in our partnership with Fannie Mae to bring new opportunities for improved housing and homeownership to Native Americans," said Jill Long Thompson, under secretary of USDA Rural Development. "Housing conditions on Native American lands are among the worst in our nation, and homeownership rates for American Indians are far below national averages. Working with local lenders, USDA and Fannie Mae are striving to change this situation."
Norma Bennett, who works for a tribal law enforcement agency, and her family of four hope to be living in their new, manufactured home by mid-August. The house will be located on trust lands of the Bay Mills Indian Community, a tribe affiliated with the Chippewa Nation.
The home will be located near the tribe's new casino and golf course in an area that is becoming a major tourist attraction. The increase in tourism is creating more jobs and income among Bay Mills tribe members, boosting the potential for homeownership, Long Thompson noted.
Under the RHNAP program, 22 Native American tribes in 11 states are eligible for USDA home loan guarantees. Eligible tribes (by state) are: Arizona -- Gila River, Navajo Nation and White Mountain Apache; New Mexico -- San Juan Pueblo, Pojoaque Pueblo and Laguna Pueblo; Montana -- Salish-Kootenai and Chippewa-Cree; Florida -- Seminole Tribe; South Dakota -- Cheyenne River and Oglala Sioux; Wisconsin -- Lac Courte Oreilles, Oneida, Menominee and Lac Du Flambeau; California -- Pala Band of Mission Indians; Michigan -- Grand Traverse Band of Chippewa Indians; Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and Bay Mills Indian Community; Nebraska -- Omaha Tribe; Nevada -- Fort Mojave; New York -- Oneida.
For more information on the RHNAP program, contact USDA Rural Development's national office at (202) 720-1452.
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