Trump administration stalls 8(a) applications for Alaska Native corporations

Alaska Native corporations' four-decade participation in the federal 8(a) Business Development Program is entering a period of uncertainty, speakers at a Commonwealth North forum in Anchorage said Thursday. The pressure comes from two directions: a Trump administration review of federal contracting that has stalled new entity applications at the Small Business Administration, and a 2024 federal lawsuit challenging the constitutional basis for the ANC-specific 8(a) treatment that built the contracting economy worth $13.5 billion in combined revenue in 2022.

The 12 Alaska Native regional corporations generated $13.5 billion in 2022, with $9 billion from business outside Alaska, and employ about 50,000 people worldwide including 8,000 to 9,000 in Alaska, according to McKinley Research Group data presented at the forum. Roughly 110,000 Alaska Native regional shareholders live in the state.

Katherine Carlton, president of Chugach Alaska Corporation, said current scrutiny stems from two sources: allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse in federal contracting, and the administration's broader review of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Nicole Borromeo, president of the ANCSA Regional Association, said the administration's focus on fraud, waste, and abuse is appropriate but 8(a) participants already operate under extensive oversight — SBA eligibility requirements, annual certifications, financial reporting standards, subcontracting limitations, and community benefit reporting.

In 2024, Advanced Simulation Technology Inc. filed suit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims challenging the SBA's rebuttable presumption that tribally owned firms and Alaska Native Corporation-owned firms are socially and economically disadvantaged for 8(a) eligibility, asserting the special treatment is unconstitutional. The outcome could redefine the legal basis for ANC participation in the program — which has been the engine of substantial Alaska Native shareholder benefits since Congress authorized it in 1986.

Emil Notti — the first president of the Alaska Federation of Natives and an ANCSA negotiator — situated the program inside the broader context of the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, which created the regional and village corporations as the primary institutions for receiving and managing settlement assets. Congress authorized those corporations to participate in 8(a) fifteen years later.

"The goal of these regulations is to build sustainable businesses in disadvantaged communities. Build capacity and competition in contracting with the federal government without preference," Notti said. "It is not about special treatment. It is about measurable outcomes, efficiencies, jobs, developing capacity, economics, and self-determination."