Little Traverse Bay Bands to receive $1 million grant from U.S. Department of Commerce

On Tuesday, April 26, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced that the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians will receive a $1 million grant from the department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) to support economic diversification strategies. The grant is funded by the American Rescue Plan Indigenous Communities program.

“President Biden is committed to supporting Tribal communities in their recovery from the coronavirus pandemic,” Raimondo said. “This EDA investment will help the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians create job opportunities and build economic resiliency that will help them stay competitive and strong during future economic disruptions.”

The grant will help the tribe hire an economic recovery coordinator, who will assist in the development and implementation of an economic development strategy, and the hiring of a planning consultant to help create the strategy.

“The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians (LTBB) are delighted to have been selected to receive an Economic Development Administration grant. There is a critical need in our community for economic diversification to address the lack of family-sustaining employment and slow economic growth,” Tribal Chairperson Regina Gasco-Bentley said in a statement.

“As a recipient of an EDA grant, LTBB will be able to establish and implement a comprehensive recovery strategy that takes tribal and regional strengths and weaknesses into account while building economic capacity. This strategy will not only benefit the Tribe but also our surrounding community by strengthening our resiliency to economic fluctuation.”

The American Rescue Plan Indigenous Communities Program allocates $100 million in funding to help tribal governments and indigenous communities develop and execute economic development projects necessary to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am grateful to our federal partners for investing in the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said. “Our strong tribal communities are brimming with entrepreneurial spirit and talent and this grant will empower them to start new small businesses, diversify their local economy, and create good-paying jobs. Michigan has added jobs for 11 months straight and our unemployment rate decreased to a low of 4.4 percent, and we must work together to ensure every working family shares in this prosperity. Today’s grant will help us meet our goal of investing in every community and empowering them to succeed.”

Contact reporter Tess Ware at tware@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter, @Tess_Petoskey

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Little Traverse Bay Bands to receive $1 million grant