Legislative panel to hear proposals to ease tribal homeownership barriers
Citing the first public home sale on Navajo trust land, advocates will push a New Mexico committee for solutions to a housing crisis requiring 30,000 new homes
The interim legislative Indian Affairs Committee will meet Aug. 14 in Taos to discuss removing obstacles to tribal homeownership, according to Source NM. Christopher Billey, executive director of the Tribal Homeownership Coalition of the Southwest, and program manager Melinda Williams will present a case study on the first public sale of a home on Navajo Nation trust land, completed in January in LeChee, Arizona.
Billey said the sale sets a precedent for future housing market development in reservation communities. The coalition estimates the Navajo Nation needs 30,000 new homes, with thousands of families on waiting lists. Discussion topics are expected to include cultural views on selling homes, training tribal members to build housing and possible legislation to allow real estate disputes to be resolved in state or tribal courts.
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