What We Do

Current as of:

Established through the Native American Programs Act of 1974 (NAPA) (PDF) (PDF), the Administration for Native Americans (ANA) serves Native Americans and Alaska Native Tribes, Native serving organizations, Native Hawaiian and Native populations throughout the Pacific Basin, including American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

ANA promotes self-governance and self-determination for Native communities by providing grant funding for community-driven projects.

ANA Philosophy

ANA’s philosophy of Native self-sufficiency and self determination is based on the following core beliefs:

  • A Native community is self-sufficient when it controls the resources necessary to meet its social and economic goals and the needs of its citizens.
  • The responsibility for achieving self-sufficiency resides with Native governing bodies and community leadership.
  • Success is measured by the impact and effectiveness of community investments.

Strategic Priorities

ANA has updated its Strategic Priorities with the goals of improving its administrative operations and enhancing relationships with Native community partners.

  • Strategic Priority 1. Become a high-performing agency with a unified operations infrastructure that effectively manages its resources and consistently delivers high quality outcomes related to ANA’s mission, priorities, and legislative mandates.  
  • Strategic Priority 2. Become a visible and effective strategic thinker and advisor on Native American policy matters throughout HHS and ACF.    
  • Strategic Priority 3. Become a positive and influential communicator on Native American policy, impacts of ANA’s investments in Native communities, and amplifying community voices. 
  • Strategic Priority 4. Become a data-driven agency by applying a data lens across ANA’s programs, operations, and management responsibilities.