Navajo Nation Finds Way To Combat Housing Crisis Faster

By Laurel Morales
March 30, 2015
Homes
Anne Hoffman
Homes like this one in the Bennett Freeze area have held up Navajo housing projects. Up until recently the tribe couldn't fix or rebuild their homes because of a land dispute with the Hopi.

The Navajo Nation must spend millions of federal dollars on housing in a timely manner or lose the funds. And the tribe has found a way around the bureaucratic red tape to build more homes faster.

Most of Navajo land is held in trust. That means if a community wants to build on trust land they have to fulfill the requirements of seven federal agencies. So the Navajo Housing Authority is building 200 homes on private land gifted to the tribe.

A 2011 study showed the Navajo Nation is in need of 50,000 homes.

“Having to spend these dollars and yet still build homes for our tribal members our only option is to look at private land within the boundaries of the Navajo reservation,” said Aneva Yazzie, Navajo Housing Authority CEO.

The project is estimated to cost as much as $70 million. That includes a community center, homes for seniors and veterans, wells and infrastructure. Yazzie said this project will serve as a model for private land projects in the future.