SCinIC | News and Updates

News and Updates«

This page provides updates on the progress being made by the SCinIC initiative, along with brief descriptions of participants’ accomplishments.

• Secretary Castro Visits Straw-Bale Demonstration House on Pine Ridge Reservation

  This past October, HUD Secretary Julián Castro visited the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota as part of his “listening tour,” when many of his first 100 days in office were spent learning about the needs of HUD’s constituents. Read more ».

• St. Regis Mohawk Tribe on Track for Energy Savings

  In 2012, the HUD Sustainable Construction in Indian Country (SCinIC) initiative provided the Akwesasne Housing Authority (ASA) of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe with analysis indicating that the demonstration project’s new Sunrise Acres units could be expected to accrue energy costs that would be 57 percent lower than comparable, older, conventionally-built units. Read more ».

• DOE Webinar Looks at Ways to Fund Large Sustainable Projects

  The Department of Energy will offer a webinar discussing two mechanisms that tribes and others may use to finance renewable energy and energy efficiency projects of more than $2 million. Read more ».

• DON’T MISS OUT ON A GREEN FUNDING OPPORTUNITY FOR TRIBES!

  The Department of Energy (DOE) is accepting applications from tribes, tribal consortia, and tribal energy resource development organizations for an opportunity to fund up to $7 million in tribal energy sufficiency projects. This includes a category of interest to tribes seeking to rehabilitate housing with sustainable features. Read more ».

• HUD Participates in the Construction in Indian Country Conference

  On Wednesday April 30, representatives of HUD’s Sustainable Construction in Indian Country (SCinIC) initiative and the Office of Native American Programs (ONAP) presented at Arizona State University’s popular Construction in Indian Country national conference. Read more ».

• Designing for People and Place: Sustainable & Affordable Housing for the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

  A University of Colorado Boulder (CU) service-learning program, funded by HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R), is bringing stakeholders and students together to offer the Oglala Lakota Nation viable models of sustainable, energy-efficient housing. Read more ».

• PD&R Grantee Is Awarded Prize

  The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) has awarded an Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) Sustainable Construction in Indian Country grantee an ACSA/ American Institute of Architects Housing Design Education Award: Excellence in Housing Education Course or Activity. Read more ».

• Learning from Our Elders: Culturally and Environmentally Responsive Design for Tribal Communities

  This 2-day HUD-sponsored training uses real-life case studies of award-winning culturally and environmentally responsive tribal architecture to explore issues of sustainable residential and community construction. Read more ».

• Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico: Tribal-Led Cultural Preservation

  The preservation plan for Owe’neh Bupingeh, prepared by the Ohkay Owingeh tribe and a winner of 2013 HUD Secretary’s Opportunity and Empowerment Award, is the subject of a Best Practices article. Read more ».

• Small Grant Awardee Summary

  The FY2012 Sustainable Construction in Indian Country Small Grant Awardee Summary is now available. For more information, please click here.

• HUD Reception Celebrates Innovative Housing in Indian Country; Four Project Videos Available for Viewing

  On May 2, 2013, the Sustainable Construction in Indian Country initiative held a reception at the National Museum of the American Indian that featured 22 Native American communities that are incorporating sustainable and resource-efficient elements in their affordable housing and community development projects. HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) and the Office of Native American Programs (ONAP) co-hosted the reception with Enterprise Community Partners. To watch the videos, visit the HUDdle. Read More ».

• Sustainable Construction in Indian Country Projects Showcased at HUD and Enterprise Reception

  On May 2nd, twenty-one Native American communities showcased their use of sustainable design and construction strategies at an event hosted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) Office of Policy Development and Research and Office of Native American Programs, and sponsored by Enterprise Community Partners. For more information, please click here.

• SCinIC Small Grant Program

  This NOFA announces the availability of funding of approximately $400,000 for the Transformation Initiative: Sustainable Construction in Indian Country Small Grant Program. This NOFA is governed by the information and instructions found in HUD's Fiscal Year 2012 Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) Policy Requirements and General Section that HUD posted to www.Grants.gov on September 19, 2011. Applications must be received by Grants.gov no later than 11:59:59 p.m. eastern time on the application deadline date. The application deadline date is March 25, 2013. Read More ».

• Impediments to Sustainable Construction in Indian Country | January 27, 2012

  As one of its first steps, the Sustainable Construction in Indian Country initiative was charged with exploring impediments to sustainable construction practices in Native communities and to suggest solutions to these impediments. Read More ».

• Assistant Secretary Bostic sends letters to Tribes seeking participants | November 10, 2011

  Dr. Raphael Bostic, Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research, is sending letters to tribes and tribally designated housing entities (TDHEs) introducing the Sustainable Construction in Indian Country (SCinIC) initiative and seeking demonstration projects. Read More ».

• HUD initiates new project aimed at increasing sustainable construction in native lands | September 22, 2011

  The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R), in partnership with the Office of Native American Programs (ONAP), has just launched a new effort to support and increase sustainable construction in Native communities. Read More ».