HUD's Fred Tombar testifies to Congress on FEMA and HUD efforts for Long Term Recovery support to Spirit Lake Nation, ND

July 21, 2011, US Congressional Testimony of Fred Tombar, HUD

Link to Testimony

...A Model for Coordinated Flood Mitigation:  The Spirit Lake Long-Term 
Flood Recovery Plan
Although several Northern Plains tribes are now experiencing flood damage, the
North Dakota Spirit Lake tribe has suffered flood damage to its communities for an
extensive period of time.  In December 2010, the Spirit Lake Recovery Plan was issued
to provide focused cost- and time-efficient strategies to address the 17-plus years of
flooding experienced by the Tribe.  The Plan was generated as a part of FEMA’s 3
Emergency Support Function 14 (ESF 14 Long-Term Community Recovery), and
involves numerous Recovery Plan partners at the tribal, federal, state, and local levels.
Northern Plains ONAP staff traveled to Spirit Lake during September and December to
assist in finalizing and “kicking off” the Recovery Plan implementation.

Spirit Lake Nation, North Dakota

Spirit Lake Nation has suffered over 15 years of flooding from the rising Devils Lake.   They have begun a process of looking toward a new future for recovery.   See this video for an overview of one element of their journey.  "Winds of Change"

Recovery Diva has a short note on the efforts at SLN  http://recoverydiva.com/2010/12/21/spirit-lake-tribe-local-recovery-plan/

There is also a news video of the big meeting on December 8th involving the recovery committee and federal and state agencies.  WDAZ "Spirit Lake Tribe Adopts Strategic Plan"