The Tepa Companies are 100% tribally owned by the federally recognized tribe, the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians of California. Contracting with tribally owned businesses brings significant benefits to clients, including saving time and money during the acquisition process.
The Buy Indian Act (25 U.S.C. §47) and its associated regulations (Department of the Interior Acquisition Regulations (DIAR) part 1480) require the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to use the negotiation authority of the Buy Indian Act to give preference to the hiring of Native American employees and purchasing of products, supplies and services from eligible Indian Small Business Economic Enterprises (ISBEE) through set-aside procurement contracts or sole source awards.
The Buy Indian Act regulations expressly grant the Secretary of the Interior the authority to delegate to any bureau or office within the Department of the Interior the ability to set aside procurement contracts for Indian-owned and controlled businesses through the Buy Indian Act. As a result, in addition to the BIA, the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management and other bureaus in the Department of the Interior may also be delegated authority to set aside procurement contracts or issue sole source awards under the Act.
The Tepa Companies are eligible Indian Small Business Economic Enterprises (ISBEEs) with extensive experience in securing and performing services under set-aside procurement contracts or sole source awards awarded through the Buy Indian Act.
Komada, LLC, a Tepa Company, was recently awarded a $58,335,000 contract by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to perform construction services at the Oglala Lake dam located on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. The project was set aside for ISBEEs by the Department of Interior in accordance with the Buy Indian Act.
For more information about ISBEE set asides, go to Subpart 260 (1 to 4).
The U.S. government provides a monetary incentive through its Indian Incentive Program (25 U.S.C. §1544) to eligible prime contractors for hiring Native American-owned companies like the Tepa Companies as subconsultants.
The program:
Offers up to 5% of the amount paid to the Tepa Companies returned to the prime contractor after work is completed
Requires authorization in the contract
Requires the funds be expended
Several of the Tepa companies are in the U.S. Small Business Administrations 8(a) Business Development Program, which offers the following contracting advantages:
Sole-source contracting that eliminates the time and cost of market research, acquisition strategies, solicitation, proposal review and contractor selection
Sole-source contracting above the $4M threshold (13CFR §124.506(b))
Sole-source contracting up to $22M without justification and authorization (13CFR §124.506(b)(5))
Contract awards that cannot be protested (13CFR §124.517(a))
As tribally owned businesses, the Tepa companies in the 8(a) program are exempt from the competitive $4 million sole-source contracting limit placed on other 8(a) certified small businesses. The exemption opens up opportunities to negotiate sole-source contracts that maximize our clients’ organizational benefits, meet their financial expectations, accomplish their missions and establish invaluable partnerships.
Sole-source contracting expedites delivery of services and eliminates the need for government contracting officers to execute a costly and time-consuming full acquisition process. Because sole-source contracts cannot be protested, the Tepa Companies’ experienced technical and management staff can begin performing the contracted services immediately.
