Native 8(a): Keep It Going

Its very success has prompted Senator Claire McCaskill
(D-Mo.) to propose legislation calling for the eradication of the very
provisions that make Native 8(a) contracting work so well. Senator McCaskill’s
legislation would penalize Native Enterprises by breaking another promise this
country made to its indigenous people – and close the door on one of the most
promising avenues to economic sustainability.

It’s the same old story. Political, legal and economic
rules are slanted against Tribes and anytime something proves valuable to
Native Americans, the federal government takes it away.

Congress created the Small Business Administration’s (SBA)
8(a) program in 1958 to help minority and other small, disadvantaged people
build their businesses. Congress later brought Tribes, Alaska Native
Corporations and Native Hawaiians into the program and granted them additional
opportunities. Where most 8(a) businesses are small, often owned by one or two
individuals, Native enterprises represent the interests of thousands – and in
many cases tens of thousands of owners. Congress recognized that to make a
meaningful economic impact, Native enterprises needed access to larger contracts
and removed the cap on the size of Native 8(a) awards.

It took many years – and many failures – for our Native
enterprises to become the business models many are today. Despite our progress,
our share is less than two percent of the $439 billion the federal government
spent on procurement contracts in 2007.

While Native 8(a) contract dollars are growing, so, too,
are those for other 8(a)s. SBA figures show 8(a) contracts to Black-owned
businesses increased by 70 percent from 2004-2008, 86 percent for
Hispanic-owned firms and 68 percent for Asian Pacific-owned companies.

The federal government conducts business with Native 8(a)
enterprises because they are an extremely efficient and cost effective
contracting option that allows the government to fulfill its policy of
supporting minority businesses. Being certified 8(a) does not guarantee work or
contracts, only performance and value brings additional work. 8(a) success has
enabled us to provide jobs, scholarships and dividends to our members, preserve
our cultures and help our elders.

In Nebraska, we’ve used profits from Ho-Chunk and its 8(a)
subsidiaries to provide for our people. The Winnebago Tribal Council recently
passed a motion to use Ho-Chunk profits to fund a $1 million program to provide
20 tribal families each with $50,000 down payments for a new home on the
Winnebago reservation. 8(a) made this possible.

In Alaska, 8(a) contracting has proven transformational
for many of the regional and village corporations (ANCs) established by the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Many of these ANCs have grown into global
success stories that have the resources to make a difference. A study just
released found that in 2008, in the midst of the worldwide recession, the 12
regional corporations paid a total of $171 million in dividends to their Native
owners, $24.3 million to a variety of non-profit and community organizations
and awarded $11.1 million in scholarships to Native students and their
families.

Will 8(a) solve all the problems of Native people? No.
Have there been stumbles along the way? Of course. Will there be more? Perhaps.
But don’t be fooled by the vocal rhetoric that uses a few stumbles to distort
what should be hailed as a success story. We must stop this seemingly endless
cycle, where Native opponents use the political system of the United States to
take away promised economic opportunities for Tribes and ANCs.  We must stop Members of Congress who seek
to place an asterisk on the definition of the American Dream for Native people.
Indian Country must unite to defend the rights of Native people and preserve
Native 8(a) participation.

Lance Morgan is President and Chief Executive Officer
of Ho-Chunk, Inc and Chairman of the Native American Contractors Association.
He is an enrolled member of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.