The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) will receive nearly half a million dollars through an annual grant for affordable housing, it was announced this week.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that some $1.1 million in grant money will go to Wampanoag tribes on the Vineyard and in Mashpee. The Vineyard tribe will receive $465,000.

Will Marden, housing administrator for the Aquinnah tribe, said the HUD funding covers about 60 to 75 per cent of the costs at the tribal housing community, which includes 29 rental units on tribe-owned land. The rest of the costs are covered by rental fees. Currently only two units are unoccupied, and they have a wait list, Mr. Marden said. He said the tribe is working to paint and fix those units up so people can move in.

Last year the tribe received $462,176 from the HUD grant, slightly less than this year. All that money has been spent on housing, so Mr. Marden said the tribe is depending on rental income until the bulk of the grant arrives. “We’ve been using the rental income to pay for it so far this year,” he said.