Monday, March 30, 2026

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Lawmakers in Washington, D.C. are proposing to update a key housing law for Tribal Nations, as communities across Indian Country continue to face severe housing shortages.

Last week, U.S. Rep. Troy Downing (R-MT) introduced the American Housing and Self-Determination Modernization Act.

The legislation would modernize and reauthorize the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act (NAHASDA), which provides federal funding for tribal housing programs, but it has not been fully reauthorized in more than a decade.

Rep. Downing said in a press release that “Homeownership is the foundation of the American dream – that doesn’t stop with Americans in our tribal communities.”

The new act would increase funding and give tribes more flexibility to build, repair, and manage housing, Downing says.

He said that, across Indian Country, many Native families are living in overcrowded homes with multiple generations sharing limited space.

During that time, tribal leaders say the need has only grown.

Mark Macarro, President of the National Congress of American Indians, says in a prepared statement that “the time to reauthorize and modernize NAHASDA is now.”

Sharon Vogel is the president of United Native American Housing Association. She says that the legislation “will provide a stable environment for Indian housing development which will have a positive impact on meeting the needs of our tribal communities and families.”

Other supporters of the act, quoted in a press release, say the changes are long overdue and warn that, without sustained investment, the gap between available housing and the need will continue to widen.

U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski  (R-AK) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) are leading similar legislation in the Senate.

Skiku is a non-profit that brings skiing to communities across rural Alaska.

This year, organizers tried something new to make the activity stick – training a village resident to be a coach.

As the Alaska Desk’s Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA reports, the idea is to encourage kids to ski throughout winter.

Justin River Lechton was a fifth grade student in Aniak, in Southwest Alaska, when he learned to ski. He loved it and started going out on the river with his dogs, breaking trail, and enjoying the freedom the activity brought him.

“It brought me outdoors. It took me outside to nature. And I was just enjoying it so much.”

Now, Lechton is 21 and becoming a ski coach. In February, he joined the nonprofit Skiku, which taught him how to ski and has been bringing the sport to kids across Alaska.

Together, he and the Skiku team traveled to several Interior villages – Grayling, Anvik, and Shageluk.

The February trip culminated with a week in another community in the same region – Holy Cross, where Lechton now lives. There, he ran the show.

Next winter, he will be the coach for Holy Cross kids.

“They’re mostly inside, and it’d be great to get them outside and to do something outdoors, all together, as a team.”

Skiku has been around for more than a decade, bringing cross-country ski coaches and equipment to kids in Alaska villages.

Tyler Henegan is its executive director. He says usually, after the visit, the skis go back in the closet.

Henegan says what’s missing is an adult who will take kids out.

“To kind of keep those four communities shredding.  In my mind, I have a Jedi Padawan situation where we can kind of have that person mentor folks out there and really kind of hope to make something a little more sustainable too, that’s really more community driven.”

That is where Lechton comes in, to keep it going throughout the season.

Sonta Hamilton Roach says that children in the region stay active by hauling wood and working outside, but she says they do not get many chances to try themselves in competitive sports.

And Roach is happy all four villages in her area are part of this project.

“We’re all the same people trying to live good, healthy, quality lives in our communities. When you really see our tribes come together, we can do cool things.”

The organizers say they hope to find more residents like Lechton in each of them to keep kids skiing throughout the season.

 

 

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Check out today’s Native America Calling episode

Monday, March 30, 2026 – Understanding the Jack Abramoff Indian gaming scandal 25 years later