Takeaways from the National Tribal Housing Ecosystem Summit
National Tribal Housing Ecosystem Summit attendees gather at the Boise Centre in August 2024.
In August, Michael Brydge participated in the National Tribal Housing Ecosystem Summit hosted by Enterprise Community Partners in Boise, Idaho.
Almost 300 people attended Enterprise Community Partners’ National Tribal Housing Ecosystem Summit in Boise, Idaho, all with a common focus: building homes and investing in communities across Indian Country. The event was the first of its kind and united leaders from around the country — Native CDFIs, TDHEs, tribal council members, consultants, bankers, brokers, federal agencies, and other change agents — to discuss ideas, partnerships, and opportunities to grow tribal ecosystems that support homeownership and economic development.
During the event, Michael Brydge, principal director at Sweet Grass, joined Casey Lozar, vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and director of the Center for Indian Country Development, for a conversation exploring the strategies our organizations are using to highlight the critical role of on-the-ground practitioners in gathering local tribal data. In their presentation “The Power of Data to Define Markets and Drive Decisions,” they highlighted the significant impact of shared collective stories on business decisions and tribal economic growth.
Of the many topics discussed and presented throughout the summit, Center for Indian Country Development’s interactive data-collection tools sparked much discussion and interest. By connecting data from a variety of public sources, the tools help build a holistic understanding of Native communities and their geographic areas, allowing each community to tell their own story. “Many people and organizations don’t have access to adequate and accurate data. These tools help make public data readily available, and they provide an easy way to collect much-needed information about housing demand,” Brydge said.
Another topic of interest was the Bureau of Indian Affairs Access to Capital Clearinghouse, which offers a searchable funding resource database specifically for tribal governments and entities. “This database will be invaluable for our research and strategy teams as we provide partnership recommendations and funding strategies to our clients,” Brydge said.
Boise has long been a place where Indigenous people throughout the region converge for stories and resources.
Outdoor murals in downtown Boise, Idaho.
Native housing industry trends
As the need for holistic data grows, so does the demand for a comprehensive approach to tribal homeownership. Brydge said industry leaders and non-Native allies are increasingly integrating all aspects of Native homeownership in their data-informed housing initiatives — not just the transactional data that accounts for funding dollars and housing structures alone. “Folks are moving away from a ‘check-the-box’ approach to Native housing. Things like safe and affordable childcare, commute and travel, entrepreneurship development and business incubation, mixed-use spaces, food sovereignty, schools, and recreation are slowly becoming funded as housing-related efforts.” Though there is still much work to be done to close the divide between holistic Indigenous practices and philanthropic giving, the progress is encouraging.
On the lending side of Native homeownership, there's a strong need for a secondary market. Portfolios of lenders in Indigenous communities are already limited, and they’re often smothered in bureaucratic red tape. A secondary market would allow primary lenders, such as banks or credit unions, to sell mortgages on Native lands to government-sponsored entities or other investors. Brydge thinks this would help open doors to expand portfolios and mitigate restrictions, allowing more capital to flow to those who need healthy homes, lowering costs for borrowers, and minimizing risks to lenders.
To bridge the gap between what borrowers need and what lenders can provide, some lenders in Indian Country are offering services like unrestricted funds, revolving loan funds, and equity bundles:
Unrestricted funds allow money to be used freely, so an organization can direct the funds towards any need without restrictions or limitations.
Revolving loan funds provide access to a supplemental source of capital, usually with more flexible and favorable terms.
Equity bundles are a combination of financial resources and tools, like training, education, down-payment assistance programs, and low-interest loans.
Unlike typical lending institutions that often perpetuate inequities in Native communities by separating the “haves” from the “have-nots,” true lending leaders are creating support systems designed to build wealth in Native communities and make asset-building opportunities more accessible.
Something else Brydge noticed during the summit was an increase in partnerships between the federal government and tribal nations — partnerships that didn’t seem plausible 10 years ago. Both sides are more welcoming of collaboration, and these new partnerships are leading to immense housing and homeownership advances, due in large part to the work of coalitions like the South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition. Brydge said collaborative storytelling, reliable data, and coalition-building are all key to better housing outcomes in Indian Country.
Furthering these efforts, Sweet Grass continues to work with housing authorities, coalitions, and entities to create healthy housing ecosystems by integrating community, food systems, workforce and entrepreneurship, land stewardship, cultural connection, and data sovereignty.
An ongoing data collection initiative showcased the collective impact of member organizations of the South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition.