Overview of Tribal Housing in Alaska

Griffin Forster provided a statewide and national perspective on Tribal housing, outlining federal-level challenges such as workforce reductions at HUD and ONAP, the rollback of DEI programs, regulatory constraints, and budgetary uncertainties. He also highlighted strategic opportunities for Tribal housing programs, including leveraging congressional partnerships, strengthening data systems, aligning with national priorities, and enhancing regional coordination to secure and expand Tribal housing initiatives.

STRATEGIC THINKING BREAK OUTS

Participants engaged in small group breakout sessions to explore key strategic questions related to housing challenges, regional collaboration, and national policy impacts. Using guided worksheets, each group discussed community-based solutions, proposed innovative partnerships, and shared their findings with all participants upon reconvening as a full group.

NAHASDA ESSENTIALS JEOPARDY

To provide interactive training, participants engaged in an interactive game of Jeopardy designed to reinforce their understanding of NAHASDA funding. This activity promoted collaboration, encouraged knowledge sharing, and showcased participants’ proficiency in navigating key components of the program.

NAHASDA DEVELOPMENT BOARD GAME

For additional interactive training, participants took part in an engaging NAHASDA, themed board game designed to reinforce their understanding of housing regulations and funding mechanisms. The interactive format promoted teamwork, facilitated learning, and sparked meaningful discussion around real-world Tribal housing scenarios.

BUILDING A SHARED VISION

To discuss and establish strategic goals of the Tribal Housing Summit participants worked together to create a compelling shared Strategic Vision for the future. The Vision is a description of what the participants want to see in place by 2035 as a result of their work. The shared vision that was developed is recorded below: By 2035, as the result of KIHA and the Tribes’ work together….

• All Tribal members live in happy, healthy, high-quality, and affordable homes,
• Our partnership has grown to broaden our reach and deepen our results,
• We support strong, self-sufficient, and thriving communities,
• Housing is accessible to everyone,
• We strategically leverage funds to amplify benefits and opportunities, and
• Our workforce is resilient, well-trained, and valued.

PROCESS IMPROVEMENT EXERCISE

Participants completed a process improvement activity in five teams. The intent of the exercise was to show players, using an experience that shows specifics attributes associated with the team led to improvement. Once the activity was complete, Michael asked the participants to list out what helped them improve in each round of the game.

• Working together
• Communication
• Maturity
• Notes
• Memorization
• More practice
• Coach was yelling/cheerleading