The Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service has awarded one of the largest tribal contracts in history to a 100% owned American Indian business. The $100 million contract, awarded to Wyandotte NetTel, offers telecommunications and information technology products and services to the federal government.
In today’s ceremony in Washington, D.C., executives from Wyandotte NetTel, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Minerals Management Service, and the Small Business Administration celebrated the contract agreement.
“I congratulate Wyandotte NetTel and the Minerals Management Service on their groundbreaking contract,” said Neal A. McCaleb, Interior Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs. “Through Wyandotte NetTel, the Wyandotte Nation is becoming a leader in the telecom business world. Today’s agreement underscores my belief that tribes can build and sustain strong tribal economies through the successful diversification of their economic development portfolios.”
Wyandotte NetTel has grown as a telecommunications and information technology business through the leadership of Chief Leaford Bearskin. Chief Bearskin has emphasized community and economic development within the Wyandotte Nation, donating profits to fund education, housing and health-related projects for the tribe. College scholarships are provided to students, a housing program facilitates home ownership for under privileged families, and a local medical clinic provides free treatment to tribe members, while making medical care available to the public.
The Wyandotte NetTel contract was negotiated by GovWorks, a federal acquisitions center, managed by the Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service.
“By offering a ‘total solutions’ concept, the contract with Wyandotte NetTel will be a one-stop shop for government users,” said Bob Brown, MMS Associate Director for Administration and Budget. “GovWorks has a great track record with outstanding customer satisfaction results from contracts with small and disadvantaged minority companies such as this one. Wyandotte NetTel’s contract is particularly important because it directly benefits an American Indian tribe and it also provides creative information technology solutions to federal agencies. This is a win-win situation,” said Brown.
GovWorks provides a full range of acquisition services to federal agencies on a project by project basis and negotiates contracts such as this one to offer federal customers IT solutions. Wyandotte NetTel will provide a full array of hardware, software and integrated technology to engineering, installation and project management services
Wyandotte NetTel is a small and disadvantaged minority business, has Small Business Administration certification under the 8(a) Program, and is certified as a HUBZone contractor.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs provides services to and carries out the federal government’s trust responsibility for the 558 federally recognized Tribal governments and approximately 1.4 million American Indians and Alaska Natives nationwide.
MMS is the agency responsible for overseeing GovWorks operations.
MMS also manages the nation’s oil, natural gas and other mineral resources on the outer continental shelf in federal offshore waters. The agency also collects, accounts for and disburses mineral revenues from federal and Indian leases. These revenues totaled nearly $8 billion last year and more than $110 billion since the agency was created in 1982. Annually, nearly $1 billion from those revenues go to the Land and Water Conservation Fund for the acquisition and development of state and federal park and recreation lands.
