Cow Creek Umpqua Tribe Receives $4.9 Million Grant for New Housing

ROSEBURG, Ore. - The Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians has received a $4.9 million federal grant to build seven new homes for Tribal families in Myrtle Creek.

The Indian Housing Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will support the construction and planning of seven single-family homes in the Tribe’s Wìli Tribal Housing neighborhood.

Each home is expected to have two bedrooms and two bathrooms and will be designed to accommodate accessibility needs. The project is scheduled to be completed by September 2029.

“Affordable housing for our Cow Creek Umpqua Tribal citizens is such a crucial component of self-sufficiency,” Tribal Chairman Carla Keene said. “It helps families and individuals feel a sense of security, stability, tradition, and provides a place for lasting, living memories.”

Keene said the Tribe is looking forward to the grant’s broader contributions to Douglas County.

Tribal officials said the project could also help reduce pressure on the area’s limited housing supply.

“Building homes for our Tribal members does more than fulfill our own responsibilities to our Tribal families,” Cow Creek Umpqua CEO Michael Rondeau said. “It eases pressure on the broader housing market. Every family we house is one less family competing for the limited homes available in Roseburg and throughout the county.”

Four-Plex Construction Begins

The grant announcement comes as the Tribe begins another housing project in the same Myrtle Creek neighborhood.

Tribal leaders recently gathered for the groundbreaking of a new four-plex containing two-bedroom, two-bathroom rental units. Construction is being funded through an Oregon Housing and Community Services Tribal Housing Grant and Tribal government revenue.

The units are expected to be available to Tribal families by early 2028.

“This is our first multi-family development on the low-income housing side, as well as being open to 120% AMI,” Tribal Housing Officer Pamela Culbertson said.

AMI refers to area median income. Culbertson said the expanded eligibility will allow the development to serve Tribal families who earn slightly more than traditional low-income limits but are not yet prepared to purchase a home.

Wìli Tribal Housing

Wìli means “house” in Takelma, the ancestral language of the Cow Creek Umpqua Tribe.

The housing program currently owns and maintains 64 homes rented to Tribal families and members of affiliated Tribes. More than 90% are reserved for low-income households, which pay no more than 25% of their monthly household income toward rent.

HUD awarded $150 million through the latest round of Indian Housing Block Grants to 31 federally recognized Tribes. The funding is expected to support the construction of 463 housing units nationwide.

The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs also received $5 million to build seven affordable homes in Oregon.