Between 2015 and 2024, Indigenous communities in the US and its territories experienced an estimated $4.4 billion in damages to property and crops from disasters. That’s far more than the recovery grant funding they received over the same period from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the largest federal source of disaster response and recovery funding.

Though all communities in the US face some degree of risk from natural hazards, Indigenous communities are disproportionately at risk—the result of centuries of federal policies that have limited self-determination and economic opportunity (PDF) in these communities.

In a first-of-its-kind analysis, we find that Indigenous communities are more likely to be exposed to disasters. At the same time, they face systemic social and economic challenges, such as undermaintained housing stocks (PDF) and higher rates of chronic health conditions, which make disasters more damaging and more difficult to recover from.

Future disasters will continue to disproportionately harm Indigenous communities if they cannot access the resources they need for recovery and mitigation.

Here we provide a snapshot of Indigenous communities’ disaster risks and access to federal disaster assistance funding. We also spotlight effective projects Indigenous communities are using to build their resilience to natural hazards.

Together, these insights can help Indigenous economic development planners advance disaster recovery and resilience efforts in their communities. We also highlight opportunities for federal decisionmakers to improve funding programs to better address the needs and challenges of Indigenous communities.

In this feature, we use the term “Indigenous communities” to refer to all federally recognized tribes; Alaska Native Villages (ANVs); and the US territories of Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Because Indigenous people living in US territories don’t have designated legal entities, we adjust disaster data for each territory by the share of residents who are Indigenous. Native communities in the state of Hawaii are not included given data limitations. Because communities vary in terms of geography, governance, and population size, we separate data by type of Indigenous community where applicable.

Read the full article about disaster recovery in Indigenous communities at Urban Institute.