- Details
- By Tribal Business News Staff
- Real Estate
The Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians will build 26 affordable senior housing units on fee land in northern Los Angeles County, marking the first project of its kind in the region.
The tribe partnered with Pukúu Cultural Community Services and Aszkenazy Development Inc. to transform a vacant lot into permanent housing for Native elders. The project addresses housing shortages among tribal citizens and other Native Americans in the area.
Tribal President Rudy Ortega Jr. called the development a significant victory for the community, noting that Native Americans were displaced first, but often received support last. He said the investment will improve quality of life for elders while addressing persistent housing disparities.
The tribe secured funding through partnerships with the California Housing and Community Development Department, Los Angeles County and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. The project received $12 million in support from the state's Tribal Homekey program, part of Gov. Gavin Newsom's $91 million investment announced in November to help California tribes tackle housing and homelessness.
The Fernandeño Tataviam Band became landless after 19th-century evictions, but maintained its connection to the region. The fee land ownership allows the tribe to lead development without the jurisdictional complications of federal trust land.
Pukúu Cultural Community Services, the tribe's nonprofit partner, will provide ongoing services for residents. Executive Director Pamela Villaseñor, a tribal citizen, said the project fulfills a century-long effort to house tribal members on ancestral land.
“My ancestral grandparents fought in California courtrooms to maintain their homelands,” Villaseñor said. “More than 100 years later, we will house the people once again.”
