Join the many Northwest tribal housing staff, advocates, and other organizations on Tuesday, January 13, through Thursday, January 15, for the Northwest Indian Housing Association 2026 Winter Conference by registering for either in-person attendance or virtual Zoom attendance. Both housing Staff and BOC/Council members are sure to benefit from this special event. In addition to our regular Members Business Meeting Tuesday morning, our presentations will feature topics covering the following areas:

*Legal updates on federal funding freeze and follow-up; FY 2026 Appropriations; NAHASDA Reauthorization; and, Executive Order priorities as conditions for grant funding in NOFOs.

*News and regional information from HUD's Tribal Intergovernmental Advisory Committee (TIAC) 

*Utilizing and taking advantage of energy savings practices and rebates in Tribal Housing projects

*Updates from HUD/NwONAP

*Member Roundtable time to report on how changes are affecting your programs, what NWIHA can do for Members, and action steps to take as an association to advocate for Indian housing

In addition to introductions from our Associate Members, door prizes, and a great meal, the Tuesday evening banquet will include our annual Brook Kristovich Memorial Scholarship Fund auction hosted by the inimitable auctioneer, Joe Diehl. Please remember to bring an item to put up for auction to those in attendance. 100% of the proceeds and donations from our auction will go toward our Brook Kristovich Memorial Scholarship Fund and be distributed to Tribal students who qualify! You may also make a tax-deductible donation at any time to our Scholarship Fund through our website (we are a qualified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization).

In addition to Tuesday's Business Meeting, we will be conducting the first in a three-part sequential training series that will occupy our training calendar for all of 2026: Fundamentals of Strategic Planning Training Series for Tribal Housing Leadership. For our Winter Conference, we will be focusing on Foundations in Strategic Planning: Internal Controls. This training is targeted to attendees primarily drawn from Board of Commissioners (or Housing Board), Executive Directors (or Housing Directors), and management level staff positions alike. The strategy for this training is to encourage and support member tribes in their assessment of systems of internal controls in preparation for implementing a dynamic ongoing strategic planning process. Assessing internal control systems now will help the member tribes to identify strengths and weaknesses of their “current situation,” a step critical to strategic planning. In April 2026 and September 2026, NWIHA will continue this series of Strategic Planning trainings building on what we learn along the way.

*Wednesday, January 14 (all day): What Are Internal Controls and Why Do We Need Them?; Internal Controls Regulatory Requirements; and Introduction to the GAO Green Book Internal Controls

*Thursday, January 15 (half day): Self-Monitoring vs. Internal Controls; Conducting an Internal Controls Review; and Action Planning
 
For those unable to attend in person or virtually through Zoom registration, please consider designating a proxy for establishing a Quorum at the Business Meeting or voting on your behalf. Proxy forms are available for download on the Members Portal page of the NWIHA website: complete the form and email to [email protected] on or before Friday, January 9, 2026.

For a complete agenda, click on the link at the top of the opening page.

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