Policy & Advocacy

Coalition’s Policy Committee Travels to Washinton, DC to Meet with South Dakota Congressional Delegation.

Members of the South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition’s Policy Committee traveled to Washington, DC on February 3-7, 2025 to join the National American Indian Housing Council (NAIHC)  Legislative Conference. Eric Shepherd, executive director of Sisseton Wahpeton Housing Authority, and Joe Shields, executive director of Crow Creek Housing Authority, also attended meetings with the South Dakota Congressional delegation to share housing and homeownership priorities for their communities. Crow Creek Sioux Tribe Chairman Peter Lengkeek and Crow Creek Housing Authority board member Brenda Sauze accompanied the group. Chairman Lengkeek was invited to deliver the opening prayer at the NAIHC meeting.

The group attended meetings with the Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Bryan Mercier to discuss the need for streamlining the residential leasing and mortgage approval processes. Coalition members Juel Burnette from 1st Tribal Lending, April Anderson from Four Bands Community Fund, and Sharon Vogel, executive director of Cheyenne River Housing Authority, participated in the meeting remotely.

Other highlights included a meeting with staff from Senator John Thune’s office, where the group learned that Senator Thune will be reintroducing the Tribal Trust Land Homeownership Act, which will help to modernize BIA’s leasing and mortgage processes. They also met with Representative Dusty Johnson, who assured the group that he was educating his House colleagues about Tribal sovereignty, trust responsibility, and treaty obligations to help them to understand that Tribal nations should not be subject to DEI Executive Orders that were announced by President Trump.

They also met with Senator Mike Rounds to thank him for his support of the Native American Direct Loan Reform Act, which was enacted last December. In addition, they discussed the Senator’s plans to continue to work on rural housing reform legislation that would include authorizing language for the USDA 502 Native CDFI relending program. The group also recommended that any tax legislation that Congress considers during the budget reconciliation process should include provisions to stimulate economic development through better access to tax credits in Indian Country including New Markets Tax Credits, Low Income Housing Tax Credits, and the ability for tribal governments to issue tax exempt bonds.

Finally, the group participated in a briefing for staff members from the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs about Native homeownership issues. The Coalition’s policy committee, which is chaired by Sharon Vogel and JC Crawford, will continue to monitor Executive Branch actions from the Trump Administration and legislative activities to keep Coalition members informed about any policies that may impact their work.

During the South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition’s first-ever Annual Membership Meeting, the Wells Fargo Foundation announced a $1.7 million grant award from its Invest Native initiative to support the Coalition’s continued growth and development, including creating a new housing development subsidiary to support tribal communities in their efforts to increase the number of safe and affordable homes.

“As the Bank of Doing, our goal is to work alongside Native communities and continue a dialogue around how we can best support local leaders and their work,” stated Otis Rolley, president of the Wells Fargo Foundation. “The collaborative approach of the South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition is highly effective in creating more access to resources and empowering more Native homeowners.”

This grant is part of Invest Native, a $20 million philanthropic initiative by Wells Fargo to strengthen housing access and affordability, small business growth and sustainability in Native communities across six states.

“We are grateful to Wells Fargo for investing in statewide coalitions like ours that bring together partners who develop innovative strategies to help Native families overcome the barriers associated with homeownership in Indian Country,” said Cheryce Not Afraid, Director of the Coalition.

At today’s meeting, the Coalition also announced its new down payment assistance program designed to increase home affordability for South Dakota’s Native American families and close the state’s racial homeownership gap, which currently lies at 35.7%. The program, which was supported by previously awarded funding from Wells Fargo and the Northwest Area Foundation, will infuse $500,000 of down payment funds into South Dakota’s Native communities, resulting in at least 50 new Native homeowners.

Also of significance during the Coalition’s Annual Membership Meeting, U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) provided an update on several pieces of federal legislation he is advancing to support increased rates of Native American homeownership, including efforts to reform the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Native American Direct Loan, to expand the U.S. Department of Agriculture 502 home loan relending demonstration, and to streamline the Bureau of Indian Affairs mortgage approval process.

“The Coalition has achieved some critical milestones today,” said Sharon Vogel, Coalition Chairwoman and Executive Director of the Cheyenne River Housing Authority. “Throughout our ten-year history, we’ve strived to make it easier to achieve homeownership. Since 2016, Coalition members have supported 253 Native families to become homeowners. As we expand our programming and continue to remove federal policy impediments, that number will only get higher.”

Stephanie Provost received the Industry Achiever Award from Oweesta Corporation.

On Wednesday, June 28th, during their 2023 Native CDFI Capital Access Convening’s Native Awards Night, Oweesta Corporation recognized two individuals at the Native CDFI staff level for their outstanding commitment to service in Native CDFI industry. One of the awardees was Stephanie Provost of Mazaska Owecaso Otipi Financial, a long-time Coalition member.

Oweesta awarded the Industry Achiever Award to Stephanie because she exemplifies excellence in the Native CDFI industry, excells at her position within Mazaska, and helps the organization meet their mission. As Loan Officer of Mazaska, Stephane plays a crucial role in creating affordable housing opportunities. Her dedication and passion have allowed Mazaska to provide over $4.8M in housing loans to 43 borrowers in just six years.

The Coalition would like to congratulate Stephanie, not only for her commitment to Mazaska, but also for all the contributions she makes within the Native homeownership field. She has helped innovate lending models to make the Native American Direct Loan (NADL) more accessible and has been an integral part of the USDA 502 Relending Demonstration Program. Stephanie recently went to the Hill to advocate for policies that promote Native homeownership, and recently became a homeowner herself. This award acknowledges Stephanie’s passion and hard work for the industry and people she has helped to make homeownership a reality.

Three Native American nonprofit organizations – Four Bands Community Fund, Lakota Funds, and Mazaska Owecaso Otipi Financial – have been designated as partners in the SD CARES Housing Assistance Program (SDCHAP) to provide up to $1,500 in rental, mortgage, or utility assistance to families that have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The South Dakota Housing Development Authority (SDHDA) was awarded $10 million by the State of South Dakota to launch and administer SDCHAP.

“Knowing that low-income and minority communities have been hardest hit by the pandemic, we are grateful that the South Dakota Housing Development Authority has actively engaged Native American organizations to ensure funds are directed where they are needed most,” says Tawney Brunsch, Executive Director of Lakota Funds.

SDHDA opened the online SDCHAP application on October 22, 2020 and will be accepting applications until December 18, 2020, or sooner if funds are expended. To provide assistance with families that don’t have reliable internet access and to help process applications, SDHDA has partnered with a total of 11 organizations, just under a third of which are located on Indian reservations.

“Since COVID hit, we have seen financial burdens manifest in different ways. We can really help a lot of people with this program and are glad to be a part of it,” says Colleen Steele, Executive Director of Mazaska.

The SDCHAP application can be found at sdcareshousingassistance.com. Four Bands is assisting applicants in Dewey, Ziebach, Wallworth, Corson, Hughes, Stanley, Buffalo, and Brule Counties. Lakota Funds is supporting applicants in Oglala Lakota, Jackson and Bennett Counties. Mazaska is covering Oglala Lakota, Jackson, Bennett, Fall River, Pennington, Meade, Lawrence, Todd, and Custer Counties.

All three Native organizations and SDHDA are members of the South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition and have been working collaboratively in various capacities over the past several years to increase homeownership opportunities for Native Americans throughout the state.

“All of the program partners are dedicated to making their communities a better place, and this is an opportunity to preserve progress on so many different levels. There is power in partnerships,” says Lakota Vogel, Executive Director of Four Bands.