Action Item: Read the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Tribal Playbook

Action Item: Share your COVID-19 Vaccination Success Story

Action Item: Review Updated CDC Resources

On May 31, the White House released a Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Tribal Playbook to help Tribal governments unlock the benefits from the investments in our nation’s infrastructure, including the more than $13 billion set aside in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for Indian Country. The Tribal Playbook builds on the release of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Guidebook and provides Tribal communities with information on the more specific Tribal funding available under the law, in addition to the hundreds of billions available to Tribes on a competitive basis.

President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will send billions of dollars to Indian Country to provide affordable high-speed internet, safer roads and bridges, modern wastewater and sanitation systems, clean drinking water, reliable and affordable electricity, and good-paying jobs in every Tribal community. As part of this effort, the Biden-Harris Administration is also committed to working with Tribal communities to help them access federal resources.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law appropriates $3.5 billion to the Indian Health Service (IHS) to build the infrastructure necessary to ensure a safe supply of drinking water, reliable sewage systems, and solid waste disposal facilities. The funding will promote high-quality health care and disease prevention in Tribal communities. The first year, FY 2022, spend plan is estimated at $700 million and will be shared with Tribal communities through a Dear Tribal Leader Letter. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Water will send another $154 million this year to Tribes for water projects through its Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds. This funding will go to projects that replace lead pipes and address harmful pollutants, among other eligible uses.

Learn more about the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law here.

NIHB plans to share these stories on social media, through email newsletters, websites, and other promotional materials. To submit a vaccination success story, you can record a short video or send us a photo and a short blurb about your success story (why you got vaccinated or how you helped someone else get vaccinated). If you have a COVID-19 success story you want to share, reach out to Darby Galligher, Project Coordinator, Public Health Policy and Programs at [email protected], or fill out this form.

The Aseto’ne Network Project is a broad multi-institutional initiative designed to coordinate outreach, education and mentoring services provided by the nation’s 36 Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs). Project partners will establish and promote interest and engagement in biomedical research among students attending Tribal colleges. The project will establish a networked community of faculty and students involved in activities that develop students’ academic and research-specific skills and promote an understanding of what is required to be a successful researcher. Most important, the project will reinforce in students the confidence in their ability to pursue a successful research career. The three aims of this project include outreach, mentoring and academic enhancement, and personal development.