The Buy Indian Act (25 U.S.C. § 47), as amended in December 2020, states, in the pursuit of enterprise development and in general, "Unless determined by one of the Secretaries to be impracticable and unreasonable - (A) Indian labor shall be employed; and (B) purchases of Indian industry products (including printing and facilities construction, notwithstanding any other provision of law) may be made in open market by the Secretaries." Additionally, the Act requires the Secretary's respective Departments who use the procurement procedures enumerated in the Act to establish an annual minimum percentage goal for procurement.
The Department of the Interior implements the Buy Indian Act through the Department of the Interior Acquisition Regulations (DIAR). On April 8, 2022, DOI issued a final rule (87 FR 20761) that updated the regulations that implement the Buy Indian Act. The rule eliminated barriers to Indian Economic Enterprises from competing on certain construction contracts, expanded Indian Economic Enterprises' ability to subcontract construction work consistent with other socio-economic set-aside programs, and gave greater preference to Indian Economic Enterprises when a deviation from the Buy Indian Act is necessary, among other updates.
For a primer on the overview of the Buy Indian Act, please click here.
Quarterly Report of Buy Indian Act Spend
Buy Indian Act Primer
Our Buy Indian Act Primer offers seven pages of information and frequently asked questions regarding the Buy Indian Act. You can access the Buy Indian Act Primer by clicking here.
Buy Indian Act Training
Indian Affairs has developed training to help educate employees and public stakeholders about the Buy Indian Act acquisition process.
eDOIU Buy Indian Act Training:
Here are the complete steps to take the online Buy Indian Act training including steps on how to create an eDOIU account if you do not already have one.
- Go to URL: https://edoiu.doi.gov
- Click Create New Account.
- Fill in all required fields.
- Click Request account at the bottom of the screen.
- It may take a day or two for the account to get approved.
- Once the account is approved the requester will receive an email. · Login to eDOIU: https://edoiu.doi.gov
- In the Search courses field, search for "Buy Indian Act" and the course will appear: "Acquisition Under the Buy Indian Act."
- Click enroll me to enroll in the course and begin.
DOI Employee Version of the Course:
Acquisition Under the Buy Indian Act (for DOI employees other than Indian Affairs): https://doitalent.ibc.doi.gov/course/view.php?id=20748
Acquisition Under the Buy Indian Act (for Indian Affairs employees): https://doitalent.ibc.doi.gov/course/view.php?id=20501
Native Vendors in SAM.gov Dashboard
The dashboard visualization allows the user to obtain information for all Native American owned businesses currently active in SAM.gov. This provides an easily accessible way to identify and enhance the use of Native American vendors for contract opportunities under the Buy Indian initiative. In addition, it allows for a place to begin market research; helps to identify regional based firms; and for
Federal agencies, that can’t use Buy Indian Act funding, to identify and use 8(a) firms for small and disadvantaged business goals. The design includes summary information for all active Native American vendors as well as the ability to identify vendors by state with a click within the interactive map and sub-categories (North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), 8(a)).
Buy Indian System for Award Management
The Buy Indian System for Award Management (BISAM) serves as a one-stop shop for Indian businesses and Tribes to identify and pursue publicly posted contract and assistance opportunities.
BISAM pulls announcements from SAM.gov daily and provides filters to help you sort through the announcements.
Points of Contact
Indian Affairs Points of Contact
Head of the Contracting Activity
Anthony Lomelin Anthony.Lomelin@bia.gov
Chief of Acquisition Operations
Brian Schoellkopf Brian.Schoellkopf@bia.gov
HQ Small Business Specialist
Nikolai Matoka Nikolai.Matoka@bia.gov
DOI Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) Points of Contact
Director of OSDBU
Colleen Finnegan Colleen_Finnegan@ios.doi.gov
Senior Small Business Specialist
Christopher Bell Christopher_Bell@ios.doi.gov
