Harriet Brouillette is tribal administrator for the Chilkoot Indian Association. (Emily Files)
Chilkoot Indian Association has begun using federal dollars to assist tribal members who face hardships as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tribe will put the first disbursement of CARES Act funds towards members’ utility bills and food security.
Congress set aside $8 billion in the CARES Act for federally recognized tribes. It took some time to figure out how that money would be divided up between them.
Harriet Brouillette is the tribal administrator for Chilkoot Indian Association (CIA). She says she participated in about a dozen meetings with other tribal leaders, trying to determine a formula for funding based on the size of a tribe, its administration and employees.
“Any time you have that large number of people trying to come together and agree on something it [is] difficult,” Brouillette says.
A few issues have yet to be resolved. There’s an ongoing legal battle to determine whether Alaska Native Corporations will receive funds from the CARES Act.
In addition, Brouillette says she is trying to figure out how CIA’s CARES Act funding can be used to help tribal members who don’t live within the community.
“The CARES Act only allows us to serve people within the boundaries of the Haines Borough,” Brouillette says. “It’s just a roadblock that we have to figure out how to get around.”
The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (Tlingit & Haida) manages a welfare assistance program for CIA members. Brouillette has been in contact with the Tlingit and Haida administration to see if it can help get CARES Act relief to CIA’s members outside of Haines.
In the meantime, CIA has already received its first CARES Act disbursement and is in the process of getting that assistance to local tribal members. Brouillette says she could not say how much money the tribe would be receiving.
So far CIA has purchased food and grocery vouchers for its members. It’s also investing in tools for food security.
“We’ve ordered things like refrigerators and freezers and subsistence harvesting items,” Brouillette says.
Tribal members can also apply to CIA for assistance paying their utility bills.
In addition to economic relief, CIA is setting aside funds to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The tribal office has about 100 cleaning supply kits, complete with masks and gloves. They’re also developing a safe quarantine space.
Brouillette says in the future CIA may be able to provide grants to businesses who have suffered losses due to the pandemic. She’s already thinking about the future impacts of the pandemic.
“The long term effects of this pandemic haven’t really affected us yet, and I think it’s going to be really important that we as a tribe look forward into the next year to make sure that we will be able to provide some sense of security for our tribal members.”
Applications for CARES Act assistance have already been mailed out to tribal members in Haines. Brouillette is hoping to get feedback from members and says questions and comments can be directed to the CIA office.
