Indian Nations Law Update - April 2012

Tribes Take Advantage of (Embattled) Section 8(a) Small Business Development Program

The federal government obligates hundreds of billions of dollars in contracts for goods and services each year. Many tribes and Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) have formed small business concerns (SBCs) to take advantage of contracting preferences under Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act for "socially and economically disadvantaged small business concern[s]," including economically disadvantaged members of tribes and economically disadvantaged tribes. In fiscal year 2010, the federal government awarded $18.5 billion to 8(a) entities, including $5.5 billion to tribal 8(a)s.

"Socially disadvantaged" individuals are those who have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural "bias because of their identity as a member of a group without regard to their individual qualities." A tribally owned 8(a) must be a distinct legal, for-profit entity chartered under