Lessons in Leveraging Funds and Creating Opportunities for Homeownership Case Study - The Pueblo of Acoma

CASE STUDY - THE PUEBLO OF ACOMA - LESSONS IN MAXIMIZING LIHTC AND PRESERVING CULTURE

Interviewee - Floyd Tortalita | Executive Director of Pueblo of Acoma Tribally Designated Housing

THE PUEBLO OF ACOMA TDHE BACKGROUND & CONTEXT

The Pueblo of Acoma or the “Place That Always Was” when translated from Keres, consists of over 2784 enrolled members deriving from 13 clans and occupies over 431,664 acres of land. In 1970 after several decades of litigation the Pueblo of Acoma won $6,000,000 from the Indian Claims Commissions over land title disputes. Although Pueblo of Acoma didn’t win back their original land, since 1970 the Pueblo of Acoma has been purchasing back surrounding land and to this date has purchased back over 182,627 acres of land in effort to reclaim their original 500,000 acres of tribal land. 91 The AMI per household of the Pueblo of Acoma sits around $42,813, and per capita income $13,895 which sits 12.7% above the national poverty line of $12,140. 92

The Pueblos of Acoma is considered to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in North America dating back to 1180 BC. According to Floyd Tortalita, housing director of the Pueblo of Acoma TDHE. The original estimated 250 Old Acoma Pueblo dwelling units are maintained but largely unoccupied year-round in the central plaza, which is a frequently visited tourist attraction. (*Old Acoma refers to the original village formerly occupied by the tribe).

“Acoma [people] only inhabitant them [traditional pueblos] less than 2 times a year during festivals and ceremonies. Old Acoma Pueblos are without electricity, water, and sewers. The majority of people live about 11 miles north of the pueblos and closer to the river because we need access to the river to maintain our two farming villages. Also, with the expansion of the railroad that runs near the river and the interstate, many moved from the pueblo to be in the valley near the railroads and found employment through railroad construction during the late 1800s.”

- Floyd Tortalita (Acoma TDHE)

Tortalita describes traditional pueblo housing similar to that of townhouses of some sort.

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“Early on main materials used were adobe, then sandstone, and nowadays more modern materials are used like cinder blocks. Traditional pueblos were typically 2-3 stories in height, and accessible through the third floor via ladders that could be lifted up. Historically third floor accessibility was designed that way to prevent raiding from the Navajo and Apache tribes. Acoma pueblos were multi-generational, and the house was divided accordingly to the level. The bottom level was used for storage since it maintained the most consistent temperature year-round. The second floor and above were used for bedrooms, and the third floor were used as living rooms, play space for children and main entrances to the pueblos. When Pueblo people came down to the

Ibid. Tiller, E. Veronica. (1994) Ibid. U.S. Census Information for Native Americans. (2020)

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villages Acomita and McCartys to be near railroads they brought building methods

down from Old Acoma pueblos.” - Floyd Tortalita (Acoma TDHE)

Acoma culture is based on a matriarchal society, where property is passed down to the youngest daughter.

“We follow our mother’s clan, for instance when I [Floyd Tortalita] got married my wife and her uncle came to my mother, my aunt, and uncle to ask for my hand. When it comes to property it’s passed on to a family’s youngest daughter who gets everything, the land, the house, cattle and so forth, everything. It then becomes her [the youngest daughter] responsibility to maintain the home and provide for her

grandparents.” - Floyd Tortalita (Acoma TDHE)

The Pueblo of Acoma TDHE came into existence in 1997 following the passage of NAHASDA. Floyd Tortalita has been serving as Executive Director for the Pueblo of Acoma since 2009. Tortalita also serves on the Region 8 representative on the National American Indian Housing Council (NAIHC) Board of Directors as well as president-elect to the Southwest Tribal Housing Alliance (SWTHA) since 2013.

1937 HOUSING ACT

“A home for the Acoma, is more than just a shelter over our head, we believe the center of our lives are in that home. What is taught in these homes itself is our culture and who we are. When you think about who taught you how to talk in our native language, who taught you how to cook, who taught you about your history, it’s not our mom and dad, it’s grandma and grandpa. When mom and dad had to go out into the fields and work and fix the homes, the ones left in the house were grandma and grandpa with the children teaching them” - Floyd Tortalita (Acoma TDHE)

The reclassification of the meaning and definition of a home was one of the biggest challenges presented by HUD upon their arrival in the late 1960s. The Pueblo of Acoma understood the home as a multi-generational structure, where culture is built and preserved. HUD in contrast understood a multi-generational home as overcrowded.

“HUD believed a home was made up of a mom and dad, 2.4 kids, and a dog. HUD saw our multi-generational housing as overcrowded since we had three family cells in the home. Here [Pueblo of Acoma] we were never one family per unit”

- Floyd Tortalita (Acoma TDHE)

In total HUD built over 200 units through the 1937 Housing Act program in the Pueblo of Acoma. With HUD’s reclassification of a home to accommodate a nuclear family, Tortalita argues a cultural shift occurred and the sense of community that used to exist amongst the tribe took a hit as families were split up.

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“Since HUD’s arrival, demand for single family homes has become the normal with lot sizes of 150ft by 150ft. Everyone maintains their own home, which changes our culture and now we don’t have that traditional apartment style complex in the pueblo where everything around in the village was community oriented, where the community shared responsibility in cleaning the village, serving the village, and maintaining the village. Now everything is about maintaining your own yard.”

- Floyd Tortalita (Acoma TDHE)

Additionally, in regard to design, the 3-story traditional structure with entry through the 3rd floor was replaced by 2-story units accessible through the ground floor. Tortalita notes the relocation of the entry to the ground floor bore no real impacts, since the era of invasion by enemy tribes or outsiders is over. Also, the removal of the storage for food on the ground floor bore no real impacts, since refrigerators provide a modern way to store food.

NAHASDA

Tortalita believes NAHASDA is overall better than the 1937 Housing Act program. However, Tortalita inserts there is still a mismatch of culture and values embedded within some NAHASDA’s programs. For instance, the Section 184 Home Loan program still operates under the western notion of a house being a commodity to be bought and sold. When Tortalita commissioned a community gathering in 2014 to gather input on what type of housing the TDHE should pursue. There was a general consciousness of displeasure in the notion of selling a home:

“The 184 program forces tribal members to put a dollar value on their home instead of a sentimental value of their home. For us the home is where we derive our culture from and pass it on to future generations. For you [HUD] to tell us if you want a bigger home, to sell our home [and take out another loan] is like you telling us to sell our children. You don’t sell your children, you don’t sell you family, you don’t sell your heart. So, what do you mean now we can sell our homes to get a bigger home?”

- Floyd Tortalita (Acoma TDHE)

Nonetheless, Tortalita appreciates tribes having more say in what gets built and doesn’t through NAHASDA. However, he notes the decrease in NAHASDA IHBG over the years from $1.5 million to $1 million USD, increasingly makes completing a project in its entirety more difficult.

TDHE INNOVATION: MAXIMIZING LIHTC DEVELOPMENT

The first serious talks of LIHTC development came about in 2014, following a community meeting. At the meeting tribal members expressed interest in developing rental properties for small young families. In January of 2016, the Pueblo of Acoma TDHE submitted their first LIHTC application and was allocated $7,215,076 of investor equity, equating to 94% of the total project cost of $7,599,653. The Cedar Hills Development, the first LIHTC project, added a total of 30 units, 16 2-bdrm and 14 3-bdrm, with 20 units allocated for households

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up to 50% AMI, 3 units up to 30% AMI, and 7 units allocated for 60% AMI. Keeping true to Acoma tradition of fostering community through shared space, the project features additional amenities such as a playground, basketball court, and walking path. In terms of design, the units are 1 to 2-stories, with each unit opening up to a courtyard, and the building facade is covered in textured stucco to resemble natural stone and dirt used in the original Pueblo dwellings. In January of 2019, Tortalita submitted a 2nd LIHTC project and is awaiting approval from the New Mexico Mortgage Family Finance Authority.

For the Pueblo of Acoma, LIHTC offers opportunities to provide young families a starter home to grow their credit history. Despite the overall general acceptance of LIHTC development within the tribe. Tortalita puts forth LIHTC poses two challenges for the tribe at large. First while the majority of the tribe is composed of moderate to low income earners. The highincome earners seeking new LIHTC units to own are not able to qualify for HUD’s 30-60% AMI limits. As a result, high income earners, who didn’t inherit a property from their mother, often move off the tribal land and find a larger house to settle in Albuquerque, NM. Secondly, originally 1937 Housing Act units maintained no household should pay more than 30% of their income to obtain a unit. Given LIHTC rent level abides by HUD’s AMI, tribal members are now finding themselves paying more than 30% of their monthly income to rent a LIHTC unit. Although Tortalita would like to ensure no Acoma member would have to pay more than 30% of their monthly income. He must also make sure rent levels balance out enough to make a LIHTC project feasible.

Figure 12. Cedar Hills Apartments and community space (2018)

(Source: Chelsea Donoho. (2018). Pueblo of Acoma)

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