[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 14, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38889-38890]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-12680]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

[2341A2100DD/AAKC001030/A0A501010.999900]


Forthcoming FY 2024 NATIVE Act Tribal Tourism Cooperative 
Agreement

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs, through 
the Office of Indian Economic Development (OIED), will be soliciting 
proposals from Federally recognized Indian Tribes, Alaska Native 
Corporations, Native American Tribal Organizations, Tribal Colleges and 
Universities, and Native Hawaiian Organizations.

DATES: Proposals must be submitted to Grants.gov no later than 5 p.m. 
EST by the deadline indicated on Grants.gov.

ADDRESSES: Proposals must be submitted to https://www.Grants.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Denise Litz, Division Chief, 
Division of Economic Development, Office of Indian Economic 
Development, telephone: (303) 710-0661; email: bia.gov">katharine.litz@bia.gov. 
If you have questions regarding the application process, please contact 
Ms. Jo Ann Metcalfe, Grant Officer, telephone (401) 703-3390; email 
bia.gov">jo.metcalfe@bia.gov. Individuals in the United States who are deaf, 
deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 
(TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. 
Additional Program information can be found at: https://www.bia.gov/service/grants/ttgp.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This OIED announcement for the forthcoming 
FY 2024 NATIVE Act Tribal Tourism Cooperative Agreement Notice of 
Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is intended to give interested applicants 
time to prepare their applications prior to the opening of the 
application period. The OIED expects the official NOFO solicitation to 
run for approximately 90 days on Grants.gov, from June 30, 2023,

[[Page 38890]]

through September 29, 2023, to receive applications. Additional 
information for the FY 2024 NATIVE Act Tribal Tourism Cooperative 
Agreement NOFO, as well as a link to the final NOFO posting on 
Grants.gov, will be available on OIED's website: Division of Economic 
Development [verbar] Indian Affairs (bia.gov).
    The OIED will award one Cooperative Agreement for $2,000,000.00 in 
annual funding, for a five-year active period of performance. This 
opportunity supports the implementation of Section 4(d) of the Native 
American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience Act (Pub. L. 114-221) 
(NATIVE Act) in partnership with the Federal government. The Department 
of the Interior, through Indian Affairs, has been engaged in 
significant regionally focused Tribal tourism efforts since the 
inception of the NATIVE Act. The NATIVE Act requires identification of 
a means for delivering and coordinating Federal technical assistance 
and resources in collaboration with Federal partners, including the 
Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Commerce and other Federal 
agencies and entities with tourism expertise.
    In 2019, the Bureau awarded a multi-year cooperative agreement 
which focused on strengthening collaboration and coordination of 
Federal assets and resources to build and promote Tribal travel and 
tourism capacity on Federal and Tribal lands. The awardee for this new 
solicitation will build upon past efforts and serve as the facilitator 
between the Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Commerce, Federal 
agencies, Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian 
organizations. The awardee, through a cooperative agreement, will 
continue to build, enhance and expand Federal tribal tourism inclusive 
of technical assistance, assets, and other potential resources needed 
to empower tribes and organizations to participate fully in the tourism 
industry. In addition, the recipient of this award will support the 
Federal government-to-government relationships with Tribal governments.
    The successful entity or organization will also support a five-zone 
implementation in Alaska, Hawaii, Southwest, Northwest, and Eastern 
zones. The five-zone approach may be implemented through sub-awards and 
partnerships with subject matter experts or consultants that may 
include, but are not limited to universities and colleges, private 
consulting firms, and non-academic non-profit entities.
    While OIED will not accept applications at this time, interested 
applicants may submit questions to the program contacts. No project 
shall be funded that has comparable activities previously carried out 
under other Federal assistance programs. It is encouraged that 
applicants conduct the required registration activities for the System 
for Award Management (SAM), Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), and the 
Automated Standard Application for Payment (ASAP).
    The required method of submitting proposals during the open 
solicitation period is through Grants.gov. For information on how to 
apply for grants in Grants.gov, see the instructions available at 
https://www.grants.gov/help/html/help/Applicants/HowToApplyForGrants.htm. Proposals must be submitted to Grants.gov no 
later than 5 p.m. EST by the deadline indicated on Grants.gov.

Eligible Applicants

    Eligible applicants are Indian tribes and Tribal Organizations, as 
defined in Section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 
Assistance Act (ISDEAA) (25 U.S.C. 5304), including Tribal Consortia. 
Tribal Colleges and Universities are those institutions cited in 
section 532 of the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 
(7 U.S.C. 301 note), any other institution that qualifies for funding 
under the Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities Assistance Act 
of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), and Din[eacute] College, authorized 
in the Navajo Community College Act, Public Law 95-471, title II (25 
U.S.C. 640a note). Native Hawaiian organization means a nonprofit 
organization: (A) that serves the interests of Native Hawaiians; (B) in 
which Native Hawaiians serve in substantive and policymaking positions, 
and; (C) that are recognized for having expertise in Native Hawaiian 
culture and heritage, including tourism. The cooperative agreement 
funding is to support the Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor 
Experience Act (Pub. L. 114-221) (NATIVE Act).

Bryan Newland,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2023-12680 Filed 6-13-23; 8:45 am]
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