Passamaquoddy Tribe

Passamaquoddy Tribe At Sipayik (the Pleasant Point division of the federally recognized Passamaquoddy Tribe, based in Pleasant Point, Maine) operates as a tribal government recipient of federal grants across social services, environmental stewardship, health care, and cultural preservation programs. The tribe does not hold federal prime contracts but receives federal grants directly as the prime recipient and acts as a sub-recipient on a small number of pass-through awards from state and local grantees. As a federally recognized Indian tribe, the Passamaquoddy Tribe operates within the tribal government category and qualifies for set-asides and direct funding reserved for Native American communities under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act and similar tribal programs.

The tribe's recent federal footprint centers on formula and project grants from the Department of Health and Human Services (Administration for Children and Families, Office of Community Services, Office of Child Care, SAMHSA), the Environmental Protection Agency Region 1, the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, the Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Education, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The portfolio spans 448 awards with a combined $141.8 million in obligated dollars across roles as prime recipient on 442 awards (99%) and sub-recipient on 6 awards (1%). Activity has been consistent over the past five years, averaging 18.8 awards annually, with 25 awards in 2025 and 20 each in 2023 and 2024. Thirty-five awards reach completion within the next twenty-four months.

The top five funding agencies by award count—the Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Education (81 awards), the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (43 awards), the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (35 awards), the Environmental Protection Agency (35 awards), and a second HHS Administration for Children and Families line item (35 awards)—together account for 51% of all awards. Representative prime grant work includes a $11.99 million cooperative agreement from NOAA (CFDA 11.463) for fish passage improvements at the Woodland Dam on the Skutik River (St. Croix River) over three years (August 2024 to July 2027), a $950,129 formula grant from HHS Office of Community Services (CFDA 93.568) for low-income home energy assistance (October 2025 to September 2027), a $462,474 EPA cooperative agreement (CFDA 66.605) to operate the Sipayik Environmental Department's continuing environmental protection programs including air quality and water quality monitoring (October 2025 to September 2028), a $456,417 Department of Education project grant (CFDA 84.299) for Indian Education Special Programs supporting language revitalization and youth development (October 2025 to September 2026), and recurring annual formula grants under the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), Community Services Block Grant (CSBG), and Older Americans Act Title VI program categories. The tribe also serves as sub-recipient on a small number of awards, including independent living skills funding for tribal foster youth passed through the Maine Department of Health and Human Services and online WIC shopping platform development funding passed through CHN Nebraska.

The tribe's organizational structure includes the Pleasant Point Passamaquoddy School Committee as a named subsidiary serving education and tribal governance functions. The award footprint and capability profile reflect the tribe's role as a lead agency administering federal entitlement and discretionary grant programs for benefit to tribal members and the broader Maine community, with particular emphasis on elder nutrition and caregiver support (Administration on Aging programs), low-income child care and development services (Office of Child Care), energy assistance (LIHEAP), environmental monitoring and brownfields response (EPA), tribal youth mental health and substance use prevention (SAMHSA), and fish passage and watershed restoration (NOAA). The combined obligated dollar volume ($141.8 million) significantly exceeds the combined potential value figure in the source, indicating substantial invoicing and drawdown across the award portfolio.