Is the “Buy Indian Act” enough?

Almost two years have passed since the Buy Indian Act’s final rule was adopted in July 2013, and activists say the law is not fulfilling its full promise.

“We are still no closer in taking American Indian business to the next level,” states a white paper titled “The Buy Indian Act: 7 Steps for Transparency, Accountability and Economic Parity,” released by Kay Bills, president of Magic-USA; Pamela Standing, co-chair of the Minnesota Indian Business Alliance; and Kristi Daniels-Long, consultant in Albuquerque, NM.

Congress passed the law decades ago, in 1910, and the Interior Department finally adopted regulations in 2013. The law requires that the Interior Department’s Bureau of Indian Affairs give preferences in procurement to Indian Economic Enterprises.

The Interior department spent $48 million in Buy Indian Act set-asides in fiscal 2014 of a total $560 million spent, up from $23 million in fiscal 2013, according to the white paper, based on Federal Procurement Data System data. That included $38 million from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and $10 million from the Geological Survey.

In addition, the Indian Health Service spent $2.4 million on Buy Indian Act set-asides of $660 million spent, the authors wrote.

The authors contend that implementation of the law has been lax due to several factors:

• Performance reviews for BIA and IHS contracting personnel are not tied to success of the Buy Indian Act;
• Written policies for training contract officers are not available;
• There are no goals for Buy Indian Act procurements;
• Congress’ addition of “at the discretion of” in the law in 1910 has weakened implementation.

Interior officials were not available to comment at press time.

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