Unused FEMA trailers headed to reservations nationwide

South Dakota reservations in dire need of housing

By Bill Harlan

Officials on the Pine Ridge and Rosebud reservations in South Dakota say their communities urgently need mobile homes that could be available under a new federal law.

Sen. Tim Johnson’s office announced Friday that American Indian tribes throughout the nation will get 2,000 so-called “FEMA trailers,” which are sitting idle in Arkansas and Texas.

The trailers are mostly three-bedroom mobile homes, Johnson spokesman Megan Smith said.

Johnson pushed through legislation last year that allows FEMA to distribute the homes to reservations, where housing shortages are often dire.

"I saw pictures of tens of thousands of empty mobile homes sitting unused in Hope, Ark., while South Dakota's Indian tribes were struggling through a tough winter with inadequate housing," Johnson said in a written statement. "There is still much that needs to be done to improve Indian housing, but this is a good step toward addressing this serious problem."

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