In the last decade, more than 70 natural disasters have occurred on tribal lands, with some communities being hit more than once a year. According to an analysis from the Center for Public Integrity, tribal nations were on average more vulnerable than the U.S. overall during the same period, based on measures such as unemployment and income.

Yet, in the span of one year, they receive less than half of what the Department of Homeland Security grants states for recovery efforts daily. Data from the National Congress of American Indians show that U.S. citizens receive, on average, about $26 per person, per year, from the federal government, while tribal citizens receive approximately $3 per person, per year.

“There are huge gaps in the way the federal government responds to tribes when a natural disaster occurs,” said Nelson Andrews Jr., emergency management director for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.

For every region, one tribal liaison navigates tribal agencies, approved contractors, the federal government and tribal council. And while tribes can apply for grants from FEMA to get help financing a hazard mitigation plan, there’s no guarantee the agency will provide funding. Without a FEMA-approved mitigation plan in place, tribes are not able to receive funding for permanent, non-emergency repairs or long-term mitigation measures, Andrews said. And yet, as of 2018, around 30% of tribal nations had an approved plan.

But even when such a plan is in place, FEMA aid isn’t guaranteed to cover the full cost of recovery. The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation have experienced four natural disasters in the last 10 years, according to the Center for Public Integrity’s analysis. In 2012, a severe storm, straight-line winds, and flooding damaged communities and left residents without power — and sometimes water — for days. In 2015, some of the most destructive wildfires in Washington state’s history hit the reservation and surrounding communities, leaving three firefighters dead and more than 255,000 acres of land burned — approximately 20% of the tribe’s land base. And last year, in 2018, flooding caused at least $356,000 in damage.

Read the full article about disaster aid for Indigenous people by Allison Herrera at Center for Public Integrity.