U.S. Sens. John Thune and Mike Rounds, along with U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, announced on May 6 that their Tribal Trust Land Homeownership Act has been signed into law by President Trump. The legislation aims to speed up the review and processing of mortgages on tribal trust land by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The new law is expected to address longstanding challenges in accessing affordable housing for tribal communities, particularly due to delays in the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ mortgage approval process. The lawmakers say these changes will encourage homeownership across Indian Country.
“For years, affordable housing opportunities on tribal trust land have been hard to come by in South Dakota and across the nation due in part to the BIA’s challenging mortgage approval process,” said Thune. “With the enactment of our legislation, this mortgage approval process will now be expedited, encouraging homeownership across Indian Country. I’m grateful to Senator Mike Rounds and Congressman Dusty Johnson for co-leading this bill with me, and I thank President Trump for signing it into law.”
Rounds said: “I’m pleased that President Trump has signed our Tribal Trust Land Homeownership Act into law. The process of getting a mortgage on tribal trust land is long and bureaucratic, requiring approval from the BIA that is supposed to take 30 days but often takes over one year. This legislation will require the BIA to follow a statutory timeline when processing mortgages for houses and businesses on tribal trust land. This is a long-overdue win for tribal communities in South Dakota.”
Johnson added: “Buying a home or business on tribal trust land is about to get a whole lot easier. I’m grateful President Trump signed our Tribal Trust Land Homeownership Act into law to improve access to homeownership on tribal lands. Big thanks to Leader John Thune and Senator Mike Rounds for their efforts to support tribal communities by cutting through government bureaucracy at the BIA.”
Sharon Vogel, board chair of the South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition and executive director of the Cheyenne River Housing Authority in Eagle Butte, said: “Senator Thune has strongly supported expanding homeownership opportunities on tribal land since his early days in the Senate… We appreciate his vision and leadership in making homeownership more accessible for Native families.” Rudy Soto, executive director of National American Indian Housing Council (NAIHC), said: “By removing unnecessary bureaucratic delays, this bill helps unlock opportunity for Native families, strengthens pathways to homeownership, and supports economic mobility in our communities.”
The act creates statutory timelines for BIA processing of mortgages involving property located on tribal trust land; enhances federal agencies’ ability to operate housing programs; and establishes a realty ombudsman within BIA.
Johnson currently serves as U.S Representative from South Dakota’s at-large district after replacing Kristi Noem in 2019 according to GovTrack. He was born in Pierre, South Dakota in 1976; he lives in Mitchell according also GovTrack.
