Tribal and Native Corporations Reaffirm Highest Ethics & Business Practices

Native News Network Staff in Native Currents. Discussion »

Annual Member Meeting

WASHINGTON - The Native American Contractors Association (NACA) held its annual member meeting in Washington DC on October 5, bringing together more than 50 different Tribal and Native corporation firms from across the country. During the week, the Washington Post published a front page article on a federal indictment of Army Corps of Engineers employees, and employees of EyakTek, a contracting firm headquartered in Dulles, Virginia. Four men were arrested on fraud charges on October 5.

"We absolutely support taking swift action on bad actors in the federal contracting community," said Jim Gray, Executive Director of the Native American Contractors Association. "Criminal activity by federal and private sector employees must be prosecuted. It's the right thing to do for all of us as tax payers, as well as for the integrity of the thousands of firms that do good business and deliver excellent services."

Since 2009, the Native American Contractors Association has required its members to adhere to a code of conduct by signing on to a specific set of business practices. The company involved is not a member of Native American Contractors Association and many Native American Contractors Association leaders discussed the wisdom and responsibility of this company's business code of conduct standards.

"As Tribal leaders, we know well the potential for some to paint our entire community based on the improper actions of a few individuals," Gray remarked. "Tribal and Native corporations are efficient businesses that deliver quality services and hold themselves to the highest ethics and business practices."

The Native American Contractors Association is a national Native advocacy organization based in Washington DC. Native American Contractors Association represents and serves Tribal, Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs), and Native Hawaiian Organizations (NHOs) across the nation on issues relating to the economic self-sufficiency of America's indigenous people, focusing on our members' participation in government contracting and the Small Business Administration's 8(a) Business Development Program. The Native American Contractors Association members represent over 475,000 Tribal Members, Alaska Native Shareholders, and Native Hawaiians.

posted October 6, 2011 11:57 am edt