The bill amends the Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience Act to add a Native American Tourism Grant Program. It creates three grant channels—through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Office of Native Hawaiian Relations, and other federal agencies—to fund activities that advance the act’s purposes.
The bill also authorizes funding and inserts the new grant framework within the statute, while renumbering sections to accommodate the change.
At a Glance
What It Does
It creates the Native American Tourism Grant Programs and authorizes grants to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations through multiple federal offices to carry out the act’s purposes.
Who It Affects
Grant-making authorities (BIA, Office of Native Hawaiian Relations, and other federal agencies) operate alongside eligible tribal entities and Native Hawaiian organizations as recipients and implementers.
Why It Matters
This establishes a coordinated federal funding stream aimed at boosting tribal tourism and visitor experiences, signaling a strategic investment in Indigenous tourism capacity and infrastructure.
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What This Bill Actually Does
The bill introduces a new grant program within the Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience Act. Section 6 (the new provisions) authorizes grants to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations to support tourism-related activities described in the act.
The Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs may award grants to tribes and tribal organizations; the Director of the Office of Native Hawaiian Relations may award grants to Native Hawaiian organizations; and heads of other federal agencies (including Commerce, Transportation, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, and Labor) may issue grants to these same recipients. An appropriation of $35 million is authorized for fiscal years 2025 through 2029 to fund these grants.
The bill also redesignates the existing section 6 as section 7 and inserts the new section after section 5. In practice, this creates a cross-agency grant framework intended to support Indigenous tourism initiatives across tribal and Native Hawaiian communities.
The mechanism is straightforward: federal dollars flow through designated agencies to eligible Indigenous organizations to implement tourism-related projects that align with the act’s described purposes. The program emphasizes capacity building, community-based tourism development, and improved visitor experiences at tribal and Native Hawaiian sites.
Recipients would use the funds for programmatic activities consistent with the act, with oversight and reporting as part of grant administration.From a compliance and operations perspective, the bill formalizes a multi-agency grant architecture, requiring coordination across bureaus and departments. It signals a federal commitment to integrating tourism development with tribal sovereignty and cultural preservation while relying on existing statutory purposes rather than creating new, standalone mandates.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill creates Section 6—Native American Tourism Grant Programs—within the act.
Grant-making authority extends to BIA, the Office of Native Hawaiian Relations, and several federal agencies.
Authorized appropriation of $35 million for FY 2025–2029.
Recipients include Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations.
Section 6 is created by inserting it after Section 5; the original Section 6 becomes Section 7.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Native American Tourism Grant Programs—Overview
Section 6 establishes the Native American Tourism Grant Programs within the act, authorizing grants to support tribal tourism and visitor experience initiatives. The grants may be awarded through multiple federal channels (BIA, Office of Native Hawaiian Relations, and other relevant agencies) to ensure broad reach and programmatic alignment with the act’s purposes.
BIA Grants to Tribes and Tribal Organizations
The Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs may make grants to Indian tribes and tribal organizations to carry out the purposes of the act (as described in section 2). This creates a direct channel for on-reservation and tribe-led tourism projects, with standard grant administration under BIA oversight.
Office of Native Hawaiian Relations Grants
The Director of the Office of Native Hawaiian Relations may make grants to Native Hawaiian organizations to carry out the act’s purposes. This provides a distinct pathway for Native Hawaiian tourism and cultural initiatives that are analogous to the tribal program.
Grants Through Other Federal Agencies
Heads of other federal agencies (Commerce, Transportation, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, and Labor) may award grants to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations to advance the act’s purposes. This creates interagency collaboration to leverage specialized expertise and funding streams.
Authorization of Appropriations
There is an authorization of appropriations of $35,000,000 for fiscal years 2025 through 2029 to fund the grants described in Section 6. This establishes a finite funding envelope for the program across the five-year window.
Renumbering Disclosure
The bill redesignates the current Section 6 as Section 7 and inserts the new Section 6 after Section 5. This renumbering reflects the addition of the grant program without altering the broader statutory framework of the act.
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Explore Indigenous Affairs in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Indian tribes operating tourism programs and cultural sites on tribal lands gain direct access to federal grant funding for development and capacity building.
- Tribal organizations that support economic development, cultural preservation, and visitor services benefit from funding for programmatic activities and partnerships.
- Native Hawaiian organizations focused on heritage, culture, and tourism receive a formal grant avenue to advance their initiatives.
- Local communities and economies around tribal and Native Hawaiian tourism assets can experience job creation and increased visitor activity as a result of funded projects.
Who Bears the Cost
- The U.S. Treasury will fund the $35 million appropriations envelope, representing an ongoing public cost to support the program.
- Grant recipients incur administrative, reporting, and compliance costs associated with managing and reporting on grant funds.
- Federal agencies administering the grant programs (BIA, Native Hawaiian Relations, and other agencies) bear ongoing program-management and oversight costs.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central tension is between broad federal investment in Indigenous tourism and the practical limits of a finite appropriation, balanced against the need for clear, accountable grant administration across multiple agencies while respecting tribal sovereignty and self-determination.
The program’s funding level—$35 million over five years—will determine how widely grants can be distributed across tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations. Effectiveness will hinge on tribal capacity to prepare applications, absorb grants, and sustain projects, as well as on the ability of multiple agencies to coordinate requirements, reporting, and monitoring.
Given the cross-agency structure, there is a real risk of duplication or conflicting guidance if roles are not clearly delineated, underscoring the need for a unified grant-management framework and periodic cross-agency alignment. Oversight and accountability mechanisms will be critical to ensure that funds advance the act’s described purposes and that outcomes are measurable across diverse communities.
The bill raises questions about scope and leverage: will the funding be sufficient to meaningfully boost tourism infrastructure and programs in many communities, or will it favor those with existing capacity to apply and administer grants? How will success be defined across varying tribal and Native Hawaiian contexts?
The reliance on section 2 for purposes implies alignment with broad statutory aims, but without explicit performance metrics in the bill text, evaluators will look to implementing agencies for concrete targets and reporting standards.
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