Northern Cheyenne Health & Housing needs assessment underway

LAME DEER., Mont. – The Northern Cheyenne Tribe and the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Housing Authority are collaborating to conduct a comprehensive assessment of housing and related health needs on the Reservation.  

The project is funded by HUD.

The project aims to gather crucial data about the households and residents on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. This information will empower the Tribe and our communities not only to secure funding, plan strategically, and enhance access to vital services, but help correct the story about the people and famines on the Reservation. Such was announced on a recent public flyer.

The project has acquired assistance from a consulting firm, Big Water Consulting located in Seattle, Washington to help with data collection and analysis for the final report. That firm has worked with 44 different Tribes across the Nation on similar assessments. When asked if the results make any difference, a spokesperson said “It depends upon the Tribe. Some have used it to good advantage, while others have not”.

According to Ben Armemtrout, Project Director, there are 1,400 HUD homes on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. A maintenance worker also said that 82 of those residences are boarded up for a variety of reasons: condemned, in ownership dispute or without necessary facilities such as water, sewer, plumbing or windows and doors. This does include the numerous low-rent apartments, many of them also boarded up.

Under guidelines, the head of household must complete the document, providing information about income, special health needs, need for repairs and so forth. In order to get a good sample, Housing selected 800 households to be surveyed. The incentive is a $20 gift card which can be used locally for gas, food or purchases at the local “mini-mall.”

The project was officially launched on August 21, 2024 and will run until the end of October. The first step was hiring 12 tribal members to conduct the surveys, a mix of teenagers and elders. They were trained for two days to “gear up” for the survey. Each of the selected households will be given six opportunities for a survey visit, said Armentrout.

If a NCTHA member is not on the list of the selected 800 Armemtrout said that “no one with a voice will be turned away. Let us know if you want to participate. This is a very important thing to our community. Whenever we apply for a grant, they ask for documentations about needs. This study will give us that baseline information to justify our needs”.

(Clara Caufield at acheyennevoice2@gmail.com)

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