Winnebago Tribe Of Nebraska

Winnebago Tribe Of Nebraska, a federally recognized Indian tribe headquartered in Winnebago, Nebraska, operates as a prime recipient of federal grants and contracts across social services, environmental protection, nutrition assistance, transit, and cultural preservation programs. The tribe acts as a direct recipient rather than a contractor for the vast majority of its federal footprint (99% of awards are prime grants and cooperative agreements), reflecting its status as a tribal government entity eligible for formula grants and discretionary awards under federal Indian and community development programs. The tribe operates subsidiaries including Ho-Chunk, Inc., a tribally owned for-profit firm with self-certified small disadvantaged business status.

Winnebago Tribe Of Nebraska's federal award portfolio reflects deep engagement in domestic social and environmental programs serving tribal populations. The tribe receives recurring formula grants from the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (78 awards, the largest customer by award count), the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (57 awards), and the Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs (56 awards), with additional work flowing from the Environmental Protection Agency (38 awards). Award concentration is skewed toward social services and nutrition: the leading project service code is Social—Direct Aid To Tribal Governments (PI 93-638, 42 awards), followed by Education/Training—General (10 awards) and Medical—Managed Healthcare (9 awards). Representative grant work includes a $1 million Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women five-year grant (CFDA 16.055, awarded October 2025) supporting a cross-designated tribal prosecutor as a Special Assistant United States Attorney to prosecute domestic violence and sex trafficking cases; a $676,839 Department of Agriculture Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations award (CFDA 10.567, October 2025) for administering nutrition assistance to eligible households; a $430,000 Department of Health and Human Services Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood cooperative agreement (CFDA 93.086, September 2025) to coordinate tribal TANF and child welfare services for at-risk families; and multiple EPA Region 7 grants for air quality monitoring (meteorological stations, PM2.5, mercury deposition), water quality standards development, and environmental capacity building. The tribe also holds grant awards from the National Park Service for historic preservation and tribal historic preservation office operations, the Institute of Museum and Library Services for library services, the Federal Transit Administration for tribal transit operations, HUD for Indian housing block grants, the National Endowment for the Humanities for archival research on boarding school history, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for youth opioid response and tribal healing courts.

Activity has remained steady in recent years (31 awards in 2022, 24 in 2024, 20 in 2025) with modest decline from prior peaks. Twenty-eight awards (representing new competitions and grant renewals) reach ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months. The tribe's award portfolio carries a combined potential value of $343 thousand with $291.7 million in obligations already received—a ratio reflecting the heavily formula-grant nature of tribal funding, where potential value ceilings often understate actual obligated revenue. The tribe holds sub-recipient grants from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (community forests initiative), the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska (Indigenous Roots Teacher Education Program), the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice (gun violence reduction), and the Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board (breast and cervical cancer screening). The sub-award footprint is minimal (1% of awards) and reflects the tribe's predominant posture as a prime grant recipient delivering services directly to tribal members rather than passing funds downstream.