Makah Indian Tribe Of The Makah Indian Reservation

Makah Indian Tribe Of The Makah Indian Reservation, doing business as Makah Tribe, is a federally recognized tribal government headquartered in Neah Bay, Washington that operates as a prime recipient of federal grants across environmental management, natural resource management, social services, and community infrastructure. The tribe does not compete for federal contracts but receives recurring formula grants and project grants from multiple agencies; 93% of its recent awards are prime grants and cooperative agreements, with 7% as sub-recipient grants routed through state and tribal intermediaries.

The tribe's grant footprint spans environmental remediation, fisheries and wildlife management, cultural preservation, child and family services, aging services, and broadband infrastructure. Representative recent work includes a $1.810606 million Bureau of Reclamation Domestic Water Supply grant (CFDA 15.577) to fund design-phase work for domestic water distribution improvements and activated carbon filtration in Neah Bay; a $1.551938 million Maritime Administration National Infrastructure Investments grant (CFDA 20.933) to plan, study, and engineer a multi-use barge loading facility; a $600,000 EPA Puget Sound Protection and Restoration cooperative agreement (CFDA 66.121) for environmental monitoring, oil spill response planning, and eelgrass restoration at Neah Bay; a $786,470.72 Department of Defense Native American Lands Environmental Mitigation Program cooperative agreement (CFDA 12.116) to address environmental impacts on tribal lands; and recurring formula grants from the Administration for Children and Families for child care services, family support, and older Americans nutrition programs. The tribe also receives recurring annual Equal Employment Opportunity Commission contracts (approximately $32,000 to $33,000 per year) for Tribal Employment Rights Ordinance program support.

Customer concentration is distributed across 74 agencies, with the top five accounting for 30% of award count. The Administration for Children and Families leads by count with 56 awards, followed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Education (55 awards) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (53 awards, $299 thousand potential value). By dollar value, the General Services Administration Public Buildings Service leads with 50 awards and $1.6 million combined potential value, followed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (33 awards, $476 thousand) and NOAA (53 awards, $299 thousand). The tribe sits on two GSA basic ordering agreements: GS10B06828 with 66 task orders and $1.6 million combined potential value, and GS10B06317 with 39 task orders.

Activity has averaged 32 awards per year over the past five years, with 2023 and 2024 peaking at 46 and 42 awards respectively, then declining to 35 in 2025 and 18 in early 2026. Thirty-one awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months. The tribe acts as a sub-recipient on grants from Washington State agencies—including the Department of Health for public health emergency preparedness and WIC nutrition programs, the Department of Fish and Wildlife for eelgrass restoration, the Superintendent of Public Instruction for child nutrition programs, and the Health Care Authority for behavioral health services. The tribe also receives sub-grants from the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission for Pacific salmon habitat and monitoring work, and from the University of New Mexico for participation in opioid use disorder treatment research through the Sophie Trettevick Indian Health Center.

The tribe's federal work reflects its role as a self-governing tribal entity managing community health, environmental stewardship, cultural resources, and economic development on the Makah Indian Reservation, which comprises 47 square miles on the Olympic Peninsula's northwest point in Clallam County, Washington, with approximately 1,692 resident tribal members out of 3,319 enrolled.