Coalition Members Showcase Successful Native Veterans Homeownership Models
South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition members are continuing to advocate for policies that increase rates of Native American veteran homeownership. Lakota Funds and Mazaska Owecaso Otipi Financial, both Native community development financial institutions (CDFIs) that serve the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, hosted a Reservation-wide tour for two staffers from U.S. Senator Mike Rounds’ (R-SD) office, Michael Bekaert, Director of In-State Military and Veterans Affairs, and George Cannizzaro, Veterans Affairs Fellow.
“We are so thankful to George and Mike for taking the time to visit with us and really get a true understanding for the environment we are working in, the challenges our Native veterans are facing when it comes to purchasing a home, and the success we’ve had with implementing new and innovative models to support our veterans in becoming homeowners,” says Tawney Brunsch, Executive Director of Lakota Funds and also a member of the Coalition’s Native Veterans Homeownership Committee.
The tour included meet and greets with Native veterans at their homes and highlighted various loan products they had utilized – including the Mazaska construction loan, the USDA 502, and the Veterans Affairs’ Native American Direct Loan (NADL) – challenges they encountered, and strategies implemented by service providers to support Native veterans as they pursue homeownership. One such strategy highlighted during the day’s luncheon was a newly developed guide to homeownership for Oglala Sioux veterans, created by Mazaska with funding from Enterprise Community Partners. The printed guide helps Native veterans on Pine Ridge navigate the homeownership process and includes several resources.
“Many of the veterans we work with are almost ready to give up because they’ve run into so many road blocks trying to buy a home. Some have been at it for years. What we have found is that relationships matter – not just with our local veterans but also with other lenders, the Tribe, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian Health Service, and our many community partners. We serve as a liaison between the veteran and these agencies and resources to keep the process moving,” says Steph Provost, Loan Officer at Mazaska.
The tour follows several months of collaboration between the Coalition and Rounds’ office in an effort to streamline the NADL program. Most recently, in June, Rounds, a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee (SVAC), along with SVAC Chairman Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Ranking Member Jon Tester (D-MT), called on the Government Accountability Office to review the NADL program. The senators requested the evaluation of the NADL program out of concern that it is not effectively serving Native American veterans. This request is a critical step towards programmatic improvement through legislative or other means.
Senator Rounds will also host a listening session this Thursday, September 3, 2020, for him to personally discuss reform strategies with Native veteran homebuyers and the Coalition members that support them.
“Homeownership on tribal lands can be a complex process, but we are continuing to chip away at the barriers to ensure that our veterans are compensated for the sacrifices they have made. It is exciting to see progress and the level of congressional support we have,” says Brunsch.
South Dakota Congressional Delegation Urges USDA to Continue Home Loan Program on Tribal Land
Three members of the United States Congress – Senator John Thune (R-SD), Senator Michael Rounds (R-SD), and Representative Dusty Johnson (D-SD) – urged U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue to allocate additional funding to continue the 502 Relending Home Loan Program on tribal land in South Dakota.
Through this program, USDA Rural Development collaborated with two Native community development financial institutions (CDFIs) to increase access to Section 502 Direct Home Loans in Indian Country. The program was highly successful, deploying nearly $2 million in mortgage loans on two South Dakota Indian reservations in less than a year – about three times the amount deployed in the previous decade. The two Native CDFIs participating in the program – Four Bands Community Fund on the Cheyenne River Reservation and Mazaska Owecaso Otipi Financial on the Pine Ridge Reservation – estimate a growing pipeline of more than $3 million for Section 502 Direct Home Loans.
“As demand for homeownership strengthens amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the continuation of the pilot program would help more tribal families escape overcrowded housing situations and achieve their goals of homeownership,” said Sharon Vogel, executive director of the Cheyenne River Housing Authority and co-chair of the South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition’s policy committee.
“We really appreciate Senator Thune’s leadership and the ongoing support from our South Dakota congressional delegation,” added J.C. Crawford, Chief Executive Manager of CBJ Producers, LLC and co-chair of the Coalition’s policy committee. “They understand that through this partnership with USDA, Native CDFIs are in the best place to get affordable 502 mortgage capital into tribal communities. Lakota Vogel at Four Bands, Colleen Steele at Mazaska and their lending teams are doing great work on the frontlines assisting their clients to navigate the homeownership process on trust land.”
A copy of the letter from the South Dakota congressional delegation can be viewed here: