25 CFR Part 900
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act Regulations PAGE 53
services, and activities carried out by tribes and tribal organizations pursuant to contracts entered into
under this Act reduce the administrative or other responsibilities of the Secretary with respect to the
operation of Indian programs and result in savings that have not otherwise been included in the
amount of contract funds determined under Section 106(a) of the Act, the Secretary shall make such
savings available for the provision of additional services to program beneficiaries, either directly or
through contractors, in a manner equitable to both direct and contracted programs.
(b) Secretarial policy.
(1) It is the policy of the Secretary to facilitate the efforts of Indian tribes
and tribal organizations to plan, conduct and administer programs, functions, services and activities,
or portions thereof, which the Departments are authorized to administer for the benefit of Indians
because of their status as Indians. The Secretary shall make best efforts to remove any obstacles
which might hinder Indian tribes and tribal organizations including obstacles that hinder tribal
autonomy and flexibility in the administration of such programs.
(2) It is the policy of the Secretary to encourage Indian tribes and tribal
organizations to become increasingly knowledgeable about the Departments' programs administered
for the benefit of Indians by providing information on such programs, functions and activities and the
opportunities Indian tribes have regarding them.
(3) It is the policy of the Secretary to provide a uniform and consistent
set of rules for contracts under the Act. The rules contained herein are designed to facilitate and
encourage Indian tribes to participate in the planning, conduct, and administration of those Federal
programs serving Indian people. The Secretary shall afford Indian tribes and tribal organizations the
flexibility, information, and discretion necessary to design contractible programs to meet the needs of
their communities consistent with their diverse demographic, geographic, economic, cultural, health,
social, religious and institutional needs.
(4) The Secretary recognizes that contracting under the Act is an
exercise by Indian tribes of the government-to-government relationship between the United States
and the Indian tribes. When an Indian tribe contracts, there is a transfer of the responsibility with the
associated funding. The tribal contractor is accountable for managing the day-to-day operations of the
contracted Federal programs, functions, services, and activities. The contracting tribe thereby accepts
the responsibility and accountability to the beneficiaries under the contract with respect to use of the
funds and the satisfactory performance of the programs, functions, services and activities funded
under the contract. The Secretary will continue to discharge the trust responsibilities to protect and
conserve the trust resources of Indian tribes and the trust resources of individual Indians.
(5) The Secretary recognizes that tribal decisions to contract or not to
contract are equal expressions of self-determination.
(6) The Secretary shall maintain consultation with tribal governments
and tribal organizations in the Secretary's budget process relating to programs, functions, services
and activities subject to the Act. In addition, on an annual basis, the Secretary shall consult with, and
solicit the participation of, Indian tribes and tribal organizations in the development of the budget for
the Indian Health Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (including participation of Indian tribes and
tribal organizations in formulating annual budget requests that the Secretary submits to the President
for submission to Congress pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, United States Code).
(7) The Secretary is committed to implementing and fully supporting the
policy of Indian self-determination by recognizing and supporting the many positive and successful
efforts and directions of tribal governments and extending the applicability of this policy to all
operational components within the Department. By fully extending Indian self-determination
contracting to all operational components within the Department having programs or portions of
programs for the benefit of Indians under section 102(a)(1) (A) through (D) and for the benefit of
Indians because of their status as Indians under section 102(a)(1)(E), it is the Secretary's intent to
support and assist Indian tribes in the development of strong and stable tribal governments capable of