2013 National Planning Excellence Awards: HUD Secretary's Opportunity & Empowerment Award

Owe'neh Bupingeh Preservation Plan

Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico

Ohkay Owingeh is the first Pueblo tribe to develop a comprehensive preservation plan that guides practical housing improvements according to cultural values. The Owe'neh Bupingeh Rehabilitation Project is a multi-year, affordable housing, rehabilitation project within the historic core of the tribe's village center. Only 60 homes remain of the nearly several hundred that once existed. Most had been abandoned by 2005 due to deterioration.

The first two phases completed in March 2012, involved the rehabilitation of 20 homes and infrastructure of the full place. Families have been provided with quality, affordable housing that is culturally appropriate, and the effort has energized a tribal discussion of larger cultural preservation issues.

Ohkay Owingeh Housing Authority and Pueblo Rehabilitation

Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico: Tribal-Led Cultural Preservation

View of Bupingeh, the southern Plaza after completion of Phase I and Phase II. Photo by Kate Russell Photography.