Three Affiliated Tribes

Three Affiliated Tribes, doing business as MHA Nation, is a federally recognized tribal government headquartered in New Town, North Dakota, that acts as prime recipient for federal grants in social services, health, infrastructure, and environmental management. The tribe operates overwhelmingly through direct federal formula grants and tribal-dedicated assistance rather than federal contracts; 94% of its 611 awards in the source data are prime grants (versus sub-awards), and the tribe has no federal contract prime or IDV awards. MHA Nation is tribally owned and American Indian owned, serving approximately 17,145 enrolled members on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation across six segments in northwest North Dakota.

The tribe's federal portfolio concentrates heavily in social safety net and tribal governance programs. The Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (92 awards), the Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Education (85 awards), the Environmental Protection Agency (56 awards), and the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (78 combined awards across two line entries) account for 51% of recent awards by count. The portfolio spans formula grants for WIC nutrition assistance (CFDA 10.557), elder nutrition under the Older Americans Act Title VI and the Nutrition Services Incentive Program (CFDA 93.047, 93.053), child welfare and family services, LIHEAP energy assistance (CFDA 93.568), and juvenile and adult wellness court operations. Representative prime grants include $3.518 million in low-income home energy assistance (HHS Office of Community Services, Oct 2025–Sep 2027), $1.098 million in Tribal Child Support Comprehensive Grant services (HHS Office of Child Support Enforcement, CFDA 93.563, Oct 2025–Sep 2026), and $750,000 in Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program funding for transportation infrastructure planning on the Fort Berthold Reservation (DOT Immediate Office of the Secretary, CFDA 20.943, awarded Sep 2026, through Aug 2029). Environmental and infrastructure grants include a $1.000 million Federal Highway Administration award for highway safety and wildlife mitigation along Highway 22 (CFDA 20.933, awarded Mar 2026), a $249 thousand Community Wildfire Defense Grant from USDA Forest Service for comprehensive wildfire protection planning (CFDA 10.720, awarded Feb 2026, through Aug 2030), and multiple EPA grants for UST/LUST prevention, brownfields remediation, and environmental program operations (Clean Water Act 106, Clean Air Act 105, FIFRA compliance). Behavioral health and justice grants include $546 thousand in Tribal Youth Program funding for juvenile wellness court operations (DOJ Bureau of Justice Assistance, CFDA 16.731, Oct 2025–Sep 2030), a $400 thousand Treatment Court Discretionary Grant for juvenile healing-to-wellness court initiation (DOJ Bureau of Justice Assistance, CFDA 16.585, awarded Oct 2023, through Sep 2028), and multiple grants for substance use disorder treatment, suicide prevention, and behavioral health infrastructure.

Award volume has grown from 12 in 2022 to 30 in 2025, with 19 awards recorded in 2026 so far. Ten awards with ultimate completion dates in the next twenty-four months face recompete exposure. The combined potential value across all 611 awards stands at $1.3 million, but obligated dollars total $413.5 million, reflecting the heavy concentration of small-dollar formula grants that carry substantial actual federal spending relative to their stated potential values. The tribe operates with minimal subcontractor engagement (6% of awards are sub-awards); sub-award work flows primarily through the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction under child nutrition programs including the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR, CFDA 10.567). MHA Nation maintains a named subsidiary, Nueta Nation Enterprises, Inc., also classified as tribally owned, minority-owned, and American Indian owned.