Latest News

by Rhonda McBride

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Anchorage has drawn owners of minority businesses from around the country for two days of meetings.
Their mission is to learn how to manage government contracts, to create jobs and opportunity.
In recent years, Alaska Native corporations have become major players in government contracting.
Alaska’s economic landscape has some features that make it [...]

The National 8(a) Association returns to Anchorage for its summer conference, on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 22 and 23. Karen Mills, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, is attending and will give the Keynote address. Other officials — from DoD, the Dept. of Interior, Dept. of Justice, NASA, SBA and the U.S. Army [...]

PR Newswire
WASHINGTON, June 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — United States Senators Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., Chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and Benjamin L. Cardin, D-Md., yesterday introduced S. 3458, the Section 8(a) Improvements Act of 2010. The legislation seeks to improve access to federal contracts for socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses [...]

Begich secures commitment in meeting with top contracting official

Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) will be consulted during the development and implementation of new rules affecting Alaska Native 8(a) and Native American defense contracting, U.S. Sen. Mark Begich announced after receiving assurance from Department of Defense (DOD) officials in Washington today.
The commitment came in a meeting between [...]

By: Senator Murkowski
This year saw a number of issues facing Alaska Natives and as a member of Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, I was able to defend Alaska’s Native Corporations on their ability to operate under the 8(a) program and also work to improve life in Alaska’s Native communities and villages.
This past summer, the Subcommittee [...]

By Rob Capriccioso in Indian Country Today

WASHINGTON – Through her words and actions in 2009, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., became one of the biggest opponents of programs that have strongly aided American Indian and Alaska Native businesses.
In July, McCaskill held a Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight hearing, during which she expressed beliefs that Alaska Native Corporations [...]

Anchorage Daily News / adn.com
A U.S. Small Business Administration program that awards advantages in contracting to Alaska Native corporations is valuable to the whole state and should be continued, Congressman Don Young and Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan said at a news conference Tuesday. The SBA’s 8(a) program is under scrutiny in Congress, where some members [...]

A note from Sarah Lukin, Executive Director of the Native American Contractors Association.
I have received a number of phone calls and emails over the last few days asking me several questions regarding the SBA proposed 8(a) regulations and the upcoming Tribal regulations. This email and attachments are designed to help address those questions, and others, [...]

By Robert Brodsky – Government Executive.com
About 200 people are expected to attend a two-day meeting in Washington this week to offer comments on proposed rule changes to the Small Business Administration’s  8(a) Business Development program, according to agency officials.

The potential revisions to the 8(a) program also are expected to draw large crowds outside the Beltway [...]

The October unemployment rate for America topped the charts at 10.2 percent. The message is clear: Americans need jobs and Native 8(a) companies deliver. Take a look at the Alutiiq Corporation’s job openings around the U.S.: http://www.alutiiq.com/html/careers.php