Three Affiliated Tribes

Three Affiliated Tribes, doing business as MHA Nation, is a federally recognized tribal government and tribally owned firm headquartered in New Town, North Dakota, that operates as the prime recipient of federal formula grants and project grants supporting health, nutrition, social services, environmental, infrastructure, and justice programs serving its approximately 17,145 enrolled members on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. The organization receives federal funding overwhelmingly through direct grants (95% of all awards) rather than contracts, with minimal subcontractor involvement (5% of awards). As a tribal government entity, Three Affiliated Tribes competes for and receives set-aside and tribal-dedicated federal grant funding—there are no contract vehicles or commercial procurement roles in the award portfolio.

Three Affiliated Tribes' federal footprint centers on social service delivery, public health, nutrition assistance, and environmental stewardship on tribal lands. The top customer agencies by award count—the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (92 awards), the Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs (85 awards), the Environmental Protection Agency (56 awards), and the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (41 and 37 awards split across service lines)—account for 51% of all awards. Health and nutrition work dominates the recent activity: the tribe is a recipient of formula grants under the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC, CFDA 10.557) providing administrative expenses ($445,371 for FY2026), nutrition services ($419,380), and breastfeeding peer counselor support; the Older Americans Act (OAA) Title VI, Part A grants to Indian tribes (CFDA 93.047, $157,530 for FY2026), and the Nutrition Services Incentive Program (CFDA 93.053, $104,118 for FY2026) for elder nutrition. Justice and mental health grants include a $546,353 block grant from the Office of Child Support Enforcement (CFDA 93.563) for FY2026 tribal child support enforcement, a $1,098,272 FY2026 comprehensive child support services block grant, a $546,353 Tribal Youth Program grant (CFDA 16.731) supporting juvenile wellness court, a $400,000 Treatment Court Discretionary Grant (CFDA 16.585) for juvenile tribal healing to wellness court, and SAMHSA grants supporting medication-assisted treatment and youth mental health crisis intervention (the MHA Native Connection Program, $2.3 million combined).

Infrastructure and environmental grants reflect significant recent activity. Three Affiliated Tribes received a $1,000,726 project grant from the Federal Highway Administration (CFDA 20.933) awarded March 2, 2026, to identify and prioritize highway mitigation measures along a five-mile corridor of Highway 22 in North Dakota, focusing on wildlife movement and public safety where the highway bisects the tribe's newly established tribal national park. The Department of Agriculture Forest Service awarded $249,262 under the Community Wildfire Defense Grants program (CFDA 10.720) in February 2026 to develop a comprehensive wildfire protection plan for the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation through August 31, 2030. The tribe received a $2.3 million Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP, CFDA 93.568) formula grant for FY2026-2027 for direct utility bill payment assistance and weatherization improvements. Department of Energy awards include a $836,519 Grid Infrastructure Deployment and Resilience grant (CFDA 81.254) supporting electric grid resilience, and infrastructure and clean energy grants under the Inflation Reduction Act supporting distributed solar deployment, air quality monitoring station rebuild, and home electrification and appliance rebates (HEAR) program implementation through 2029.

Recent activity shows growth: 30 awards in 2025 and 16 year-to-date in 2026, compared to 12 in 2022 and 25 in 2023. The portfolio carries $1.3 million in combined potential value across 608 awards, though the $409.9 million in combined dollars obligated reflects the formula-grant structure where actual disbursement far exceeds potential ceilings. Twenty-five awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, creating recompete opportunity for successor funding. The organization operates a subsidiary, Nueta Nation Enterprises, Inc., a tribally owned minority enterprise. Three Affiliated Tribes receives sub-awards from the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction under the Child Nutrition programs—the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR, CFDA 10.567) and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)—serving meal provision to tribal child care and family child care home programs. The tribe's grant portfolio is heavily weighted toward formula allocations and direct service delivery rather than competitive procurement or contract management, reflecting its status as a tribal government entity receiving federal assistance rather than selling services as a vendor.