To commemorate Veterans Day, the South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition released today the Statewide Native Veterans Housing Needs and Homeownership Study which analyzed data collected from 418 Native veterans across South Dakota. The study set out to identify the housing and service issues most important to veterans in each of the nine reservations communities in South Dakota. Coalition members will use the results to expand their programming to help to address the collective concerns identified.

According to the study, the homeownership rate for SD Native veterans increased to 43%, up slightly from 39% since the Coalition’s previous data gathering efforts in 2019. However, the 43% homeownership rate for SD Native veterans is still significantly lower than the 69% homeownership rate in South Dakota overall.

“The Coalition has prioritized assisting Native American veterans interested in pursuing homeownership, and the findings from this study really help us to identify their preferences and needs,” said Sharon Vogel, Coalition Chair and Executive Director of the Cheyenne River Housing Authority. “We have such gratitude for the veterans who participated in the survey and for the Coalition members, especially our Tribal Veteran Service Officers, who helped to get the word out about it.”