DICKINSON, N.D. – U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp, a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development is partnering with two Native Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) for a pilot program that will support home loan assistance and increase home ownership on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

“Home ownership is a key factor in supporting families’ financial needs as well as providing a place that families can call home,” said Heitkamp. “Today the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development has started a new program to help provide loan assistance to communities in Indian Country. By providing more opportunities to gain access to capital, this program will help increase home ownership in Indian Country to keep families strong and safe.”             

These federal funds are made available through the USDA Rural Development’s Single Family Housing Direct Loan program, also known as the Section 502 Direct Loan program, and will be lent to two Native CDFIs that understand the needs of homeownership in Indian Country. These organizations will then relend these funds to eligible home owners on North Dakota and South Dakota reservations, like the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

In March, Heitkamp introduced the Tribal Food and Housing Security Act that would help reform home loan programs to level the playing field for Native Americans struggling to gain access to credit to afford a home. Heitkamp’s bill would make Native CDFIs eligible borrowers and re-lenders on trust land under the 502 Direct Loan program. CDFIs have built relationships with tribal members and are well suited to serve as intermediary lenders between USDA and tribal members while providing potential borrowers with comprehensive assistance to successfully apply for the program.