/ Modified may 5, 2020 5:03 p.m.

Federal government releases delayed coronavirus relief funds to tribes

A lawsuit that questioned what entities qualified as tribal governments delayed the roll out of money from the CARES Act.

hopi reservation VIEW LARGER The Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona covers 2,532 square miles and is surrounded by the vast Navajo Nation Reservation.
Madeline Ackley/Cronkite News

The U.S. Department of Treasury began dispersing 60% of federal coronavirus relief funds set aside for tribal governments Tuesday — a week after tribal nations were supposed to receive the money.

The $4.8 billion chunk of the total CARES Act funds set aside for tribal governments will be split between 574 federally recognized tribal governments. Funds will be allocated based on U.S. Census Bureau data of tribal population, even though American Indians and Alaska Natives living on reservations were undercounted by 4.9% in the 2010 census. According to NBC News, this racial demographic is the most undercounted in the United States.

According to a press release from the Treasury Department, the remaining 40% of the total $8 billion for tribal relief funds will be dispersed at a later, unspecified date. Those monies will be distributed based on the number of employees who work for a tribal government and its entities. It will also factor in the costs spent on “higher expenses” related to COVID-19.

Congress outlined within the CARES Act that the funds should be dispersed no later than 30 days after becoming a law on March 27. However, the funds were held up after several tribal governments sued the federal government to prevent for-profit Alaska Native Corporations from receiving a portion of the $8 billion set aside for tribal governments. Tribes have temporarily won their argument April 27, but the final order is still to come.

By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona