Policy Brief  

Recommendations for Allocation and Administration of American Rescue Plan Act Funding for American Indian Tribal Governments

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provides the largest infusion of federal funding for Indian Country in the history of the United States. More than $32 billion dollars is directed toward assisting American Indian nations and communities as they work to end and recover from the devastating COVID19 pandemic – which was made worse in Indian Country precisely because such funding is long overdue.

In this policy brief, we set out recommendations which we hope will promote the wise and productive allocation of ARPA funds to the nation’s 574 federally recognized American Indian tribes. We see ARPA as a potential “Marshall Plan” for the revitalization of Indian nations. The Act holds the promise of materially remedying at least some of the gross, documented, and long-standing underfunding of federal obligations and responsibilities in Indian Country. Yet, fulfilling that promise requires that the federal government expeditiously and wisely allocate ARPA funds to tribes, and that tribes efficiently and effectively deploy those funds to maximize their positive impacts on tribal communities.

More from this Program

Indigenous Governance Summer Reading List
A compilation for book covers from the summer reading list

Feature

Indigenous Governance Summer Reading List

From a fictional thriller to a leading report on Native children, the HKS Project on Indigenous Governance and Development shares recommendations for must-reads this summer.

Tribal Sovereignty in Focus Back-to-School Reading List
A collage of book covers

Feature

Tribal Sovereignty in Focus Back-to-School Reading List

Back-to-school recommended reads from the Harvard Project on Indigenous Governance and Development include books, articles, and podcasts that highlight Indigenous governance narratives.

 

More on this Issue

Indigenous Governance Summer Reading List
A compilation for book covers from the summer reading list

Feature

Indigenous Governance Summer Reading List

From a fictional thriller to a leading report on Native children, the HKS Project on Indigenous Governance and Development shares recommendations for must-reads this summer.

Tribal Sovereignty in Focus Back-to-School Reading List
A collage of book covers

Feature

Tribal Sovereignty in Focus Back-to-School Reading List

Back-to-school recommended reads from the Harvard Project on Indigenous Governance and Development include books, articles, and podcasts that highlight Indigenous governance narratives.