STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. - The Healey-Driscoll administration awarded $31.5 million in climate resiliency funding Wednesday.

The state calls the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grant program MVP for short. It provides support to Massachusetts communities to identify climate hazards and develop action plans.

Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll made the announcement at the town offices of Stockbridge, noting the building is on the ancestral homeland of the Mohican people.

In addition to helping communities invest in addressing climate change impacts, the MVP Action Grant is also helping the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans reclaim 351 acres of their indigenous homelands after being forced to leave the state in the 1800s.

“Well, I know it's the first time that the state has funded this sort of a collaborative effort," Driscoll said. "Not only to ensure that these indigenous tribal lands are back in the hands of the of the tribe, but also the opportunity to make sure that we're thinking about the resiliency and sustainability of that particular parcel moving forward. It's a really moving day.”

“We feel very honored to be able to share in a lot of hard work done in Stockbridge to get to this point," Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans president Shannon Holsey said. "We're overwhelmed and we're appreciative, but we always understood that it's about collaboration, relationships. But at the forefront of what Lieutenant Governor just spoke of, it's also about stewardship and making sure that we retain the historical significance of this homeland and making sure we do whatever we can we can do in a collaborative way to protect it for future generations.”

The Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans were awarded $2.26 million.