Bassett Hired as New SIHA Director
by Tamara Morrow
We are very pleased to have Elena L.
Bassett as a member of our SIHA staff. She
was hired in early March and has been very
busy ever since.
Bassett’s background is quite
impressive. She worked for the Yakima
Nation for 15 years. From 1982 to 1991, she
was Yakima Nation Housing Program
Manager, where she had HIP Program
responsibilities and did grant funding for
renovation and new home construction for
the elderly.
Bassett also worked with the Yakama
Nation Housing Authority (YNHA) as liaison
to obtain trust land for new development.
From 1984 to 1994, she coordinated the
development of six projects totaling
351 units.
From 1995 to 2000, she was the
Yakama Nation zoning inspector. Her duties
included determining the use of Yakama
lands to conform with zoning ordinances and
working with economic development, Indian
Health Services/environmental engineer,
and BlA/tribal realty staff.
She
developed
a
Uniform
Administrative Code to establish a building
inspection department. She inspected the
Yakamart convenience store, which was
renovated from a bingo hall to a commercial
convenience business. She monitored
installation of underground fuel storage
tanks and prepared a preliminary draft of a
Sanitation and Health Code to enforce health
standards, solid waste management, and
dog control.
Bassett served as president of the
Yakama Nation Chapter of Habitat for
Humanity. Her educational background
includes attending Heritage College in
Toppenish, Wash., and business
administration at Yakima Valley Community
College. In 1996, she received a bachelor’s
degree in construction management
from Central Washington University
in Ellensburg.
Bassett, 50, is an enrolled Yakama
member of Yakama, Nez Perce and
Wanapum blood. Her Indian name is
Satayuse. Her parents were Rosalie
Pinkham Bassett, Yakama/Nez Perce, and
Wapt Bassett, Yakama/Wanapum. She had
one son, Travis B. Packineau, whom the
Creator called away in 1995.
Bassett was taught the traditional
Washat religion and gathering of the foods
by her grandmother, Ida Thompson
Pinkham, During the winter months, she
follows the Medicine Society prayer
services and dancing. She learned how to
gather tule reeds and makes mats for
traditional feasts, funerals, and social use.
Since coming to the Siletz area,
Bassett says she has met many wonderful
and kind people and the SIHA staff has
helped her meet the daily challenges of the
Housing Authority. She also says that
Mother Nature has provided the Siletz
people with beautiful land, trees, and an
abundance of rain. She believes that not only
the Siletz but also Indians throughout Indian
Country deserve adequate housing for
themselves and their families.
It is with a deep sense of gratitude and
appreciation that Bassett accepts the grave
responsibility of managing the Siletz Indian
Housing Authority for the Confederated
Tribes of Siletz Indians. She will strive to do
her best.
Down Payment Program Celebrates First-Year Anniversary
by Dave Litchy
It seems like yesterday that SIHA
funded its first down-payment grant. It’s hard
to believe that a year has gone by since
tribal member Sam Potter’s grant was
funded in March 1999.
Since that time, the NAHASDA Down
Payment Assistance Program has funded
32 grants for a total of $580,462. We’ve
helped first-time homebuyers in five states
- Oregon, Washington, Utah, California,
and Idaho.
Program Highlights
This program was created to assist
first-time homebuyers with purchasing an
existing home or constructing a new one.
The program pays up to 20 percent of the
purchase price (maximum $20,000), which
must be used as a down payment for a
home purchase. The tribal member must live
in the home for five years; at that point, the
grant is forgiven.
6
The applicant’s household income
must be under 80 percent of median income
as determined by HUD. The limits imposed
are adjusted by area. Tribal members living
in higher cost of living areas will have a
higher limit than those living in rural areas.
To find out where your income fits, call the
Housing Finance office.
The program also requires all
applicants to complete a First-Time
Homebuyer Education Program before
entering into a purchase agreement on a
property. The Housing Finance Program
office in Salem provides the training on an
individual basis. Other training sites are
available for those applicants who cannot
make it to the Salem office.
After completing the training
requirement, applicants should contact a
lender and get pre-qualified for a first
mortgage loan (most first mortgages are 30-
year loans). The Housing Finance office
works with many lenders. We recommend,
however, that applicants apply for pre
qualification with lenders who are familiar with
state bond programs. In Oregon, for
example, first-time homebuyers can obtain
an interest rate one percentage point
below market rates by qualifying for the
Oregon Bond Program.
One financial institution that has been
very helpful to tribal members and also
works well with the Oregon Bond Program
is First Security Bank of Salem. It has
completed mortgages for tribal members in
Salem, Lincoln City, and the surrounding
area. Information on whom to contact at First
Security follows this article.
After tribal members have completed
the first three steps (getting their grant
application approved, completing the training
requirement, and pre-qualifying for the first
(See Down Payment on page 7)