Tribal Social Work Government Resources: Basic Needs

The Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) provides USDA foods to income-eligible households living on Indian reservations and to Native American households residing in designated areas near reservations or in Oklahoma. USDA distributes both food and administrative funds to participating Indian Tribal Organizations and state agencies to operate FDPIR.

Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is administered in each state or territory by state health departments or Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs). Contact the WIC state or local agency serving your area to schedule an appointment.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides nutrition benefits to supplement the food budget of needy families so they can purchase healthy food and move towards self-sufficiency.

American Indian and Native Alaskan communities may be disproportionately affected by health problems associated with poor indoor air quality, such as lung cancer. However, many actions can be taken to improve IAQ in tribal communities to slowly begin to change those statistics. This Website can help you improve IAQ in your tribal community. You can find information to educate your community about the simple actions they can take to improve their IAQ and protect their health, as well as examples of how other tribes have created sustainable community outreach and education programs.

Tribes have historically played an important role in environmental issues including air quality and climate change. Tribal citizens are often disproportionately affected by air pollution, while their governments play an increasingly valuable role in controlling and reducing pollution and its adverse health effects. Tribes are also particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and are taking steps to prepare for and become more resilient to these changes.

Tribes play a primary role in protecting air on their reservations. Learn about the environmental programs and technical assistance regarding air quality on tribal lands.

The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requires EPA to establish regulations to protect human health from contaminants in drinking water, authorizes EPA to develop national drinking water standards and ensure compliance with these standards, and directs EPA to protect underground sources of drinking water through the control of underground injection of fluids. EPA directly implements the SDWA in Indian country and currently implements most programs. Tribes are eligible for delegation of certain SDWA programs. Tribes are eligible to receive primary enforcement authority for the drinking water program and eligible for delegation of the Underground Injection Control (UIC) program.

EPA works collaboratively with tribal governments, tribal utilities and tribal members to implement the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The goal of this collaboration is to improve access to safe drinking water on tribal lands.

Water quality standards (WQS) provide the regulatory and scientific foundation for protecting water quality under the Clean Water Act (CWA). WQS not only set water quality goals for a tribe’s water bodies, but also serve as the regulatory basis for establishing water quality-based treatment controls and strategies. To administer a WQS program under the CWA, a tribe must apply to EPA for authorization to be treated in a similar manner as a state (TAS). To learn more about WQS and coverage in Indian country, please refer to these resources.

The Housing Improvement Program (HIP) is a home repair, renovation, replacement and new housing grant program administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and federally-recognized Indian tribes for American Indians and Alaska Native (AI/AN) individuals and families who have no immediate resource for standard housing.

The Indian Housing's Office of Native American Programs (ONAP) administers housing and community development programs to ensure that safe, decent, and affordable housing is available to Native American families.

Indian Housing Grant Programs provide financial help for Indian tribes to develop affordable housing and to provide housing activities on a reservation or Indian area. HUD awards grants to tribes and other Indian entities through either a competitive process (discretionary grants), or on a formula basis in the case of the Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) Program.

Tribal Green Building includes funding opportunities and resources from Federal, tribal, and state agencies to promote green building.

To live on public lands, contact the Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH). The role of the PIH is to ensure safe, decent, and affordable housing; create opportunities for residents' self-sufficiency and economic independence; and assure fiscal integrity by all program participants.

To live on a reservation, contact a local Tribally Designated Housing Entity (TDHE). Tribal Housing expands homeownership and affordable housing opportunities; empowers residents of Indian housing through the creation of jobs and economic development opportunities; enforces fair housing opportunities; makes Indian housing development drug-free; and helps to end overcrowding and homelessness.

Find contact information for Tribally Designated Housing Entities by region.

This grant provides Federal assistance for Indian tribes for the right of tribal self-governance, housing-related services such as housing counseling, self-sufficiency services, energy auditing, and the establishment of resident organizations.

This program provides home ownership opportunities to Native Americans, Tribes, Tribally Designated Housing Entities (TDHEs), and Indian Housing Authorities on Indian land, through a guaranteed mortgage loan program available through private financial institutions.