A bill to amend the Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience Act to authorize grants to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations, and for other purposes.
This bill amends the Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience Act to create a formal Native American Tourism Grant Program. It authorizes grants to be provided by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Office of Native Hawaiian Relations, and by heads of other federal agencies (including Commerce, Transportation, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, and Labor) to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations to carry out the act’s purposes (as described in section 2). The bill also sets aside up to $35 million to fund these grants for fiscal years 2025 through 2029. In short, it creates a dedicated, multi-agency funding mechanism to support Native tourism initiatives and visitor-experience improvements by Native communities. Potential impact includes expanded financial support for tribal and Native Hawaiian tourism projects, stronger interagency collaboration, and an explicit funding stream to bolster economic development, cultural preservation, and visitor management in Native communities. Authorization of funding does not guarantee appropriations; Congress would still need to provide the actual funds each year.
Key Points
- 1Establishes a Native American Tourism Grant Program under a newly created Section 6 of the act (with Section 6 placed after existing Section 5, and the prior Section 6 redesignated as Section 7).
- 2Grants may be made by:
- 3- The Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to Indian tribes and tribal organizations.
- 4- The Director of the Office of Native Hawaiian Relations to Native Hawaiian organizations.
- 5- Heads of other federal agencies (including Commerce, Transportation, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, and Labor) to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations.
- 6Grants are intended to carry out the purposes of the Act as described in section 2 (i.e., to promote Native tourism and improve visitor experience).
- 7Authorization of appropriations of $35,000,000 to carry out this section for fiscal years 2025 through 2029.
- 8The bill’s action is an amendment to an existing law, broadening who can receive grants and which federal entities can provide them.