Cocopah Indian Tribe

Cocopah Indian Tribe, a federally recognized tribal government based in Somerton, Arizona, is a prime recipient of federal grants (96% of awards) across a diverse portfolio of social services, environmental stewardship, workforce development, and infrastructure programs serving tribal members on its reservation. The tribe acts as prime recipient on 354 grants across 41 distinct federal customer agencies and holds a sub-recipient role on 15 grants flowing primarily through Arizona state agencies (Arizona Department of Economic Security, Arizona Department of Health Services, Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation).

Cocopah's grant footprint concentrates heavily in human services and community development. The tribe receives recurring annual formula grants from the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (38 prime awards) for child care development services under CFDA 93.575 (Child Care and Development Fund Mandatory & Matching) and CFDA 93.575 (Child Care and Development Block Grant Discretionary), totaling $176 thousand awarded in FY 2025 alone for child care services and quality improvement activities serving low-income families on the reservation. The tribe also manages formula grants from the Administration on Aging under the Older Americans Act Title VI, Part A (Grants for Native Americans) and the OAA Nutrition Services Incentive Program for Native Americans, running through March 2029. The Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Service (37 prime awards) funds opioid response and substance use treatment programs, including a five-year Tribal Opioid Response (TOR) Project awarded September 2024 through September 2029 that provides medication-assisted treatment, harm reduction services, and recovery support for adult tribal members.

Environmental and natural resource programs anchor a second major capability stream. The Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Education (64 prime awards, the top customer by count) and the Department of the Interior proper (41 prime awards) together fund riparian habitat restoration on the lower Colorado River, tribal wildlife and water quality monitoring programs, and infrastructure for sustainable energy. Representative awards include a Colorado River Limitrophe Restoration Project grant (Fish and Wildlife Service Region 2, February 2024 through November 2026) to design and construct water delivery infrastructure enabling up to 4,000 acre-feet of annual water delivery to restore 390 acres of native riparian and wetland habitat; an Inflation Reduction Act funded ambient air monitoring program (EPA Region 9, September 2023 through September 2026, full funding of $185,029) to deploy air quality monitors across the tribe's three reservations; and a tribal utility authority feasibility study grant (Department of Energy, May 2025 through May 2027) to assess financial, legal, and technical requirements for establishing a tribal-operated electric utility with renewable energy capacity.

The tribe holds grants for community infrastructure and economic development from the Federal Transit Administration (multiple awards funding the Purple Route 6A rural fixed-route bus service connecting the three sections of the reservation, with awards running through December 2026 and December 2027); the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (broadband infrastructure deployment project, November 2022 through October 2026, to install fiber-optic service to 210 unserved Native American households); the Economic Development Administration (feasibility study for a butcher shop retail market sourcing specialty meats from Arizona and Sonora ranchers, April 2024 through September 2025); and the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs (solar energy project, January 2024 through December 2026).

Library and cultural services run through the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the Native American Library Services Basics Grant Program, with project grants supporting library operations, cultural enrichment programming, language and genealogy collections, and training for library staff; the most recent award (August 2026 through July 2027) provides project grant funding for library sustainment.

Workforce development sub-awards flow from the Arizona Department of Economic Security under WIOA Title I (Adult and Dislocated Worker programs, CFDA 17.258 and CFDA 17.278) to deliver job search assistance and training for low-income and dislocated workers ages 14 and up, with multiple sub-awards issued between July 2022 and October 2025. The tribe also received a Workforce Innovation Works Program (NEWP) block grant from the Office of Family Assistance, most recently awarded July 2026 through June 2027.

Activity volume peaked in 2023 with 21 awards and has moderated to 4 awards year-to-date in 2026. Twenty-two awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, representing recompete exposure across child care development, home energy assistance, transit operations, environmental monitoring, and library programs. The tribe does not hold federal contracts or seats on federal IDIQs or GWACs; its footprint is exclusively grant-based, consistent with its status as a tribal government entity eligible for direct federal tribal grants under Indian policy and domestic assistance programs.