In the Headlines
May 2, 2016
Tribes Still Pushing for Inroads on Fed. Agency Contracts
Law360
More than four decades after the passage of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, Native American tribes continue to make progress in their mission in taking over the operation of federal programs, but still battle with federal agencies who are suspicious of a takeover.
"While there’s been a big attitudinal shift as a federal bureaucracy that was "very comfortable with calling all the shots and was resistant to giving up authority and power" has gradually ceded control to tribal service providers, that process is "by no means complete or finished," Indian Law attorney Phillip Baker-Shenk said. "That is a remaining frontier that has not been opened up, and it’s one that periodically causes great pain in Indian Country."
READ: Tribes Still Pushing for Inroads on Fed. Agency Contracts (subscription may be required)
"While there’s been a big attitudinal shift as a federal bureaucracy that was "very comfortable with calling all the shots and was resistant to giving up authority and power" has gradually ceded control to tribal service providers, that process is "by no means complete or finished," Indian Law attorney Phillip Baker-Shenk said. "That is a remaining frontier that has not been opened up, and it’s one that periodically causes great pain in Indian Country."
READ: Tribes Still Pushing for Inroads on Fed. Agency Contracts (subscription may be required)