Native American Affairs Program
Native American Affairs Technical Assistance Program
(and Program Criteria)
Providing Technical Assistance to Federally Recognized Indian Tribes
— NEW —
Applying for Bureau of Reclamation
Funding Opportunities:
Webinar Video
Webinar Slides
Featured Resources:
Technical Assistance Program
Current and Prior Year Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs)
Successful Proposals Approved for Funding
Program Criteria (Current as of 2023)
Technical Assistance Program
Reclamation has various programs which provide technical assistance to a broad range of entities, such as the Drought Assistance, Wetlands, and Water Recycling Programs. Indian Tribes are eligible for most of these programs and, through them, much assistance has been provided to Tribes. One program is available only to federally recognized Indian Tribes—the Native American Affairs Technical Assistance Program (TAP).
Reclamation's Native American Affairs TAP provides technical assistance to assist Indian Tribes to develop, manage, and protect their water and related resources. The program has supported a broad range of activities in each year since its inception in the early 1990s. Such activities have included water needs assessments, improved water management studies, water quality data collection and assessments, and water measurement studies. Total annual funding for the Native American Affairs TAP ranges between $2 and $3 million.
Work under the Native American Affairs TAP may be carried out in different ways. Sometimes the work is performed by Reclamation under cooperative working relationships with Indian Tribes, which provide the Tribes with opportunities to benefit from Reclamation's technical expertise and resources. Other times, the work is carried out by Indian Tribes under Public Law 93-638. Alternatively, assistance may be provided in the form of training to enhance Tribal members’ knowledge and expertise in the use, protection, and development of water resources. Work may also be carried out in partnership with other governmental or non-governmental entities, thereby enabling assistance provided to Tribes with greater efficiency.
While program direction and leadership for the Native American Affairs TAP is provided by Reclamation's Native American and International Affairs Office (NAIAO) within the Commissioner’s Office, the program is implemented through Regional and Area Offices. Area Office Program Coordinators work with their Regional Program Managers and Indian Tribes to develop project proposals, which are submitted for consideration for funding. Budgetary constraints limit the number of projects which can be funded each year.
Current and Prior Year Notice of Funding Opportunities (and successful proposals approved for funding)
Note: Each technical assistance activity considered for the Native American Affairs TAP must satisfy "Program Criteria." Those criteria can be found further below and are also listed in each year’s Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).
Current Year NOFOs
- 2024: NOFO No. R24AS00051 (Adobe PDF; 670 KB) [THIS NOFO IS CLOSED]
Emergency Drought Relief for Tribes, Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, Section 80004 - Budget Detail and Narrative with Instructions (Excel Template; 84 KB)
- Notice of Funding Opportunity on www.grants.gov
- News Release: President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda Provides $16.5 Million to Support Tribes
Impacted by Drought - 2024: NOFO No. R24AS00013 (Adobe PDF; 1.5 MB) [THIS NOFO IS CLOSED]
Technical Assistance to Tribes for Fiscal Year 2024
Prior Year NOFOs
- 2023: NOFO No. R23AS00016 (via www.grants.gov) [THIS NOFO IS CLOSED]
- 2022: NOFO No. R22AS00015 (Adobe PDF; 706 KB) [THIS NOFO IS CLOSED]
- 2021: FOA No. BOR-DO-20-F013 (Adobe PDF; 872 KB) [THIS FOA IS CLOSED]
- 2021 Proposal: Chickasaw Nation (Adobe PDF; 1.6 MB)
- 2021 Proposal: Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Warm Springs Power&Water Enterprise (Adobe PDF; 593 KB)
- 2021 Proposal: Elk Valley Rancheria (Adobe PDF; 5.0 MB)
- 2021 Proposal: Nez Perce Tribe Water Resources Division, Nez Perce Reservation of 1863 (Adobe PDF; 83 KB)
- 2020: FOA No. BOR-DO-20-F013 (Adobe PDF; 843 KB) [THIS FOA IS CLOSED]
- 2020 Proposal: Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (Adobe PDF; 1.8 MB)
- 2020 Proposal: Elk Valley Rancheria (Adobe PDF; 1.4 MB)
- 2020 Proposal: Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge Reservation (Adobe PDF; 561 KB)
- 2019: FOA No. BOR-DO-19-F002 (Adobe PDF; 1.6 MB) [THIS FOA IS CLOSED]
- 2018: FOA No. BOR-DO-18-F001 (Adobe PDF; 397 KB) [THIS FOA IS CLOSED]
- 2017: FOA No. BOR-DO-17-001 (Adobe PDF; 371 KB) [THIS FOA IS CLOSED]
Program Criteria (Current as of 2023)
Note: Each technical assistance activity considered for the Native American Affairs TAP must satisfy "Program Criteria." Those criteria can be found below and are also listed in each year’s Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).
- Funding contributions by the Native American Affairs Technical Assistance Program (NAA TAP) are limited to $400,000
per tribe. - Activities funded under the NAA TAP must pertain to the management, protection, or development of water and related resources for federally recognized Indian Tribes.
- Feasibility studies (as defined under Reclamation law) shall not be funded.
- Construction shall not be funded. (Note that activities which, in the aggregate, total $400,000 or less, are not deemed to be construction for purposes of program administration.)
- Only definable products will be funded; no specific positions or activities within Indian Tribes will be funded.
- Only discrete projects with durations of 2 years or less will be funded.
- No activities will be funded that generate data or analyses having the potential for compromising any study or activity of a Department of the Interior Indian water rights negotiation, or the Department of Justice in its pursuit of related Indian water claims. (If in doubt, the Reclamation member of the Federal Negotiations Team should be consulted.)
- No activity will be funded for non-Federal dams or structures.
- No technical assistance funds shall be used to fund administrative costs of Public Law 93-638 contracts unrelated to the NAA TAP.
- No technical assistance funds shall be used to purchase equipment as the sole purpose of the project.
- No technical assistance funds shall be used to directly support litigation of any kind.
- No technical assistance funds shall be used for activities that will have the effect of obligating Reclamation to perpetual funding requirements. (In the past, this has meant that funding shall not be used to install gaging stations unless it appears that other sources of funding are available to fund future operations and maintenance of the station.)
- No technical assistance funds shall be used to perform biological activities (e.g., fisheries work, including collection, analysis, and evaluation of biological data). Funding related to the water supply (i.e., quantity and quality) of a fishery study is acceptable.
Last Updated: 3/29/24