Maliseets get $600,000 grant for athletic fields

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — The Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians will soon have a new athletic complex for its youth to enjoy thanks to a $600,000 federal grant.
    The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded the grants to the Maliseets to improve or create housing and economic development opportunities for low- to moderate-income families.
    “We’ve waited a long time for this athletic field and have never given up trying to find ways to fund it,” said Tribal Chief Brenda Commander. “This field will provide a means of healthy exercise for ages ranging from our youth to our elders, who have expressed an interest in a walking track for many years.”
    The athletic field will be located on 14.75 acres on the reservation and will consist of a regulation-size football field, running/walking track, baseball field with dugouts, sporting equipment, parking lot and storage.
    Ground work on the new facility will begin in the spring. The Maliseets are working with Lewis and Malm Architects and Engineers of Bucksport.
    The creation of a football field could benefit the Houlton Knights football team, which competes in the Aroostook Football League. A non-high school sponsored squad; the Knights currently practice and play their games at a field located by the Houlton International Airport.
    To care for the new facility, a seasonal, part-time position will be created. Tribal youth will also sell healthy snacks at a new concession stand, with proceeds going to help supplement youth programs.
    The competitive grants are provided through HUD’s Indian Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG) Program to support a wide variety of community development and affordable housing activities.
    “These funds will help American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments create sustainable and community-driven solutions,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “Housing and infrastructure needs in Indian Country are severe and widespread. I’m inspired by the work the tribal communities are taking on to leverage these funds and get their communities on the right track.”
    The ICDBG program was established in 1977 to help Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages to meet their community development needs. Federally recognized Indian tribes, bands, groups or nations (including Alaska Indian, Aleuts and Eskimos) or Alaska Native villages compete for this funding. The recipients use the funding to develop viable communities, including rehabilitating housing or building new housing or to buy land to support new housing construction.
    The funding can also be used to build infrastructure such as roads, water and sewer facilities, and to create suitable living environments. To spur economic development, recipients have used the grants to establish a wide variety of commercial, industrial and agricultural projects. The grants have been used to build community and health centers, or to start businesses to support the community, such as shopping centers, manufacturing plants, restaurants or convenient stores/gas stations.