PREPARED STATEMENT OF BARNEY CHINO, ACOMA PUEBLO My name is Barney Chino. I am the Commissioner from Acoma Pueblo. Acoma is located about 60 miles west of Albuquerque. We have 3,500 Acoma people living at our village, our ancestral home. There are 19 houses in need of rehabilitation which would cost approximately $250,000. The need for this rehabilitation was caused by similar factors as exist in the other Pueblos. The foundations provided for these houses several years ago were woefully inadequate, and the shifting and settling of the foundations over the years has rendered many of our houses uninhabitable. The plumbing in many of the houses is inadequate because the pipes have deteriorated and are no longer usable. During a rehabilitation attempt several years ago, the pipes were replaced with essentially the same pipes which preceded them, and we are again in the same situation. It would be much cheaper in the long run to replace this plumbing with something suitable and lasting than to continue to replace them every few years. I would like to stress the need for quick relief. Unless this is furnished us fairly soon, it will be too late, and the houses which can now be saved and rehabilitated will be lost and will have to be replaced by houses which are significantly more expensive. The Pueblo of Acoma earnestly asks this Committee to be attentive to its needs and to the needs of the All Indian Pueblo Housing Authority. Any assistance you may give us for this pressing need in Indian housing would be greatly appreciated. PREPARED STATEMENT OF MARK CHINO, SANTA ANA PUEBLO My name is Mark Chino. I am the Housing Commissioner for Santa Ana Pueblo, which is composed of 500 Indian people. It is a community approximately 20 miles north of Albuquerque. There are 21 houses at Santa Ana desperately in need of rehabilitation. All are presently occupied. In a year or two, most of them will not be suitable for habitation and the participants will have to be moved out and eventually furnished with a new housing unit. A replacement house now costs approximately $50,000, and at the present rate of acceleration of housing costs in our area, twice that amount or $100,000 is not inconceivable. Davis-Bacon requirements, new requirements imposed by energy conscious regulations, and similar requirements are much the root cause of the accelerated costs. These will increase, not decrease. Right now, most of the repairs could be affected at an approximate cost of $10-12,000 per housing unit. Many of these are caused by bad foundations when these houses were built seven and more years ago. The soil in the Rio Grande Valley where our Pueblo lies is "plastic" and inadequate soil tests when they were first constructed resulted in inadequate foundation work; this is the primary source of deterioration. 69-993 0 - 81 - 4 The Pueblo of Santa Ana requires immediate assistance in rehabilitation of existing housing and any aid and assistance you may give would be greatly appreciated by the housing authority, by the Indian people at Santa Ana, and by myself. PREPARED STATEMENT OF DONALD R. MONTOYA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PUEBLO OF LAGUNA HOUSING AUTHORITY The Pueblo of Laguna Housing Authority support the efforts of other housing authorities, and particularly that of All Indian Pueblo Housing Authority, to bring attention to the crying need for rehabilitation assistance for existing Indian housing. For many reasons, including inadequacies of the programs several years ago, we are plagued with many houses now which need rehabilitation. We have approximately 30 units which require rehabilitation, and the cost would be approximately $10,000 per unit, totalling approximately $300,000. Any assistance which your Comruittee can give us would be greatly appreciated. PREPARED STATEMENT OF DAVID PEREZ, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NORTHERN PUEBLOS HOUSING AUTHORITY Northern Pueblos Housing Authority strongly urges that this Committee be attentive to the need for rehabilitation in HUD assisted Indian housing. Many of the houses which were built some years ago now have to be rehabilitated or abandoned. From the standpoint of economy, the desires of the people and of the Housing Authority, they should be rehabilitated. We have approximately twelve projects affected, totalling approximately 10 homes. We would estimate our requirements to be approximately $1,500,000. Any assistance you can provide will be greatly appreciated. PREPARED STATEMENT OF LAWRENCE SINGER, SANTA CLARA PUEBLO My name is Lawrence Singer. I am the Chairman of the All Indian Pueblo Housing Authority and am the Commissioner for my Pueblo, Santa Clara. Santa Clara is in northern New Mexico, approximately 90 miles north of Albuquerque. Our problems with existing housing are much the same as at the other Pueblos. The poor quality of workmanship and materials years ago, together with the settlement problems, have rendered many of our housing units barely tolerable. Our Pueblo is immediately next to the Rio Grande, and the soil is not suitable to support a modern house unless a considerable amount of foundation work is performed first. HUD, after these many years, has finally realized this and now sufficient attention is paid to foundation work. But the houses of several years ago are in bad shape. They can be saved and restored if, and only if, immediate assistance is given us to rehabilitate these houses so that they will meet the standards of safe and decent housing for our Indian people. The Pueblo of Santa Clara asks your assistance in meeting this need for rehabilitation assistance, and any effort you may expend on our behalf will be appreciated. ZUNI HOUSING AUTHORITY, Re: Amendment funds. P.O. Box 14658, Station 9, Albuquerque, N. Mex. DEAR MR. GARCIA: The Zuni Housing Authority fully supports All Indian Pueblo Housing Authority and other Housing Authorities in their efforts to obtain funds for rehabilitating their existing units. The Zuni Housing Authority not only have problems with their units that stem from poor design and construction but also flooding of units. My efforts were fruitless in September 1977 to re-open and amend development budgets to make a study and recommendations in the hopes of providing a permanent solution to the flooding of units. Through concerted efforts I hope our quest to obtain funds will become a reality and not a dilemma. I have attached a list by projects the needs of this Housing Authority. We are most appreciative that you are representing Zuni Housing Authority. Senator MELCHER. Our next witness is Alfred Pemberton, secretarytreasurer, Leech Lake Reservation, Cass Lake, Minn. STATEMENT OF NADINE CHASE, MEMBER, LEECH LAKE HOUSING AUTHORITY; ACCOMPANIED BY LARRY KITTO, MEMBER, ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF Ms. CHASE. Mr. Chairman and members of the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs, my name is Nadine Chase. Alfred Pemberton could not be here today due to illness in his family. I am a member of the Leech Lake Reservation Tribal Council and a director of the Leech Lake housing authority. On behalf of the tribal council, the housing authority, and Indian people living on the Leech Lake Reservation, I thank you for affording us the opportunity of appearing here today. Our concerns are in regard to the delivery and management of housing on our reservation. The Leech Lake Reservation is located in northern Minnesota. The population is approximately 4,500 members living on the reservation. The reservation has about 425 full-time employees providing a wide range of services. Adequate housing is one of our major concerns. We are, I do not know how many, years behind on our housing. The majority of our housing is substandard-probably 75 percent of it. In 1977, we did a comprehensive survey on the housing conditions on the Leech Lake Reservation. We found that the housing plight of the residents on the reservation is really deplorable. So we reorganized the housing authority and put some sound management in and changed the board of directors. Now we feel that our housing program is operating effectively. One of the better programs that is on the reservation at this point is the home improvement program funded under the Bureau of Indian Affairs. We feel that is really the most cost-effective housing that we have on the reservation. We get the money in one chunk, and we decide how the houses are to be built. We use subsidized labor. We mainly use that money for the elderly people, but the dollars are very short under the home improvement program. We feel that in all the programs that we have had any dealings with, that is the most cost-effective way for us to build houses. I guess our reservation, like many others, has a high incidence of poverty, a low economic base, and an unemployment rate in excess of 50 percent. We feel that those particular conditions require a greater amount of subsidy than the conventional subsidy. For one thing, the electricity on the reservation, as compared to the Minneapolis area, is about three times higher. The last homes builtthey were built about 3 years ago—are all-electric. That really causes a hardship on the people. Senator MELOHER. Is there natural gas available? MS. CHASE. No. Senator MELCHER. What is available other than electricity? Ms. CHASE. Oil, which is high, too; wood, but HUD has a lot of regulations about wood. We have not been able to put in any wood furnaces. We felt in the type of area where we come from, where there is wood as a natural resource, as a fuel supply, all-electric housing should never have been installed, especially since it is three times higher than anywhere else. One of our biggest needs is housing; better housing, more housing, more cost-effective housing. We also need something that will provide technical assistance in the areas of housing management and to assist the tribal members in finding affordable housing, something that works on the reservation. I know one of the goals of HÜD is to—or at least it says in their handbook-provide employment on the reservation through their housing programs in construction and so forth. That is virtually impossible through their bidding process and their rules and regulations. Leech Lake has a construction company. I do not know yet if we have convinced our area office that we should be able to bid on it, but we certainly have the capability with our construction company. But what normally happens is somebody that is not even on the reservation gets the bid or some really huge company, and they do not provide work for the reservation residents. Senator MELCHER. I am interested in that point. Have you made an effort for apprentice programs or not? Ms. CHASE. No. Senator MELCHER. Would you please consider that, to work out an arrangement for apprentice programs? We do it in Montana on some reservations. I wish it would be broadened in my own State. I think it ought to be broadened in your State, too. Ms. CHASE. We do have it in other areas like Indian Action. We do have training in those areas. Senator MELCHER. I am not convinced that, when you let a contract for, say, 30 units, that it serves any particular purpose to have untrained, unskilled workers to attempt to have the production to meet the terms of the contract and to meet the specification of the housing. What we are trying to do in this housing is to come up with very good housing at a cost figure that can be paid out by the family involved. We do not want the quality of the housing to be deteriorated because of unskilled workers. So, I think we have to have apprenticeship programs for building trades. Ms. CHASE. I know what you mean. I thought you were talking about apprentice programs in the housing authority. We do not have it in the housing authority. Senator MELCHER. No; I do not mean in the housing authority. Senator MELCHER. On the reservation? Ms. CHASE. Right. Senator MELCHER. You do have an apprentice program? MS. CHASE. We do have a lot of trained people. In other words, they would be ready to go to work in the field of electricity, carpentrySenator MELCHER. Who is running the apprentice program? Ms. CHASE. The State of Minnesota. Senator MELCHER. Fine. I am sorry to have to interrupt you now. We have one more witness. The bells are signaling a vote for me. I will have 5 more minutes. I do have a question of you. You said there was a 1977 survey where you found that the housing was very inadequate across the reservation. I assume that your testimony today is, in effect, an update of that 1977 survey; is it not? MS. CHASE. Right. Senator MELCHER. Do you still find that 75 percent of the housing on the reservation is substandard? MS. CHASE. Right. Well, we have used our community development block grant money this year for renovation of housing. So, maybe after this year it will look a little better. Senator MELCHER. You are making some progress. Ms. CHASE. Right. We are making progress. With that kind of money Senator MELCHER. But we are still talking, perhaps, about 60 percent of the housing on the reservation being substandard? MS. CHASE. That is right. Through Indian Health Service, where we get funds-they got cut so bad this year, we have six on our whole reservation. Senator MELCHER. Would you give us details on that in particular, on the sanitation provisions? Ms. CHASE. On the sanitation? Senator MELCHER. I know you have something in your statement, but I do not know that it is detailed enough. Ms. CHASE. Well, the sanitation facilities were originally funded through Indian Health Service. We have some community systems, too, but after this year they will not fund the maintenance portion of that. Being that our reservation is 60 by 90 miles, there is a lot of area to cover to maintain that. Senator MELCHER. Your testimony on this is on page 6. It is about half a page. What I would like is real, thorough detail because I think this is a part that we are neglecting in IHS. While we are not going to talk to HUD about this directly, it certainly bears on whether or |