Washington, DC - Aug 16, 2009 - The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed the creation of a Tribal Priority that will promote the allocation and licensing of new radio stations to provide coverage for Tribal lands. Native Public Media (NPM) and the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) have filed joint comments and reply comments filed in the FCC rulemaking. Both groups support the initiative, calling it groundbreaking, long needed and overdue.

The groups say that Native Americans have been largely invisible in the broadcasting industry on all levels ranging from media access to control and ownership of broadcast facilities.