The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) has selected the FCC to be 2004 recipient of its NCAI Leadership Award.
The Commission was chosen because it has exhibited “outstanding leadership and ongoing commitment and support to American Indians and Alaska Natives.”
NCAI gives only three of these awards annually. One goes to Congress, one goes to the Administration, and one goes to another deserving entity. This year's recipients are House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo of California, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and the FCC.
The FCC recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the United South and Eastern Tribes (USET) regarding the best practices of siting communications towers and put a new Tower Construction Notification System online. The notification system is intended to help those wishing to build towers and the Commission to determine when it is necessary to protect historic property or Tribal religious or cultural sites.
“We are honoring the Commission for its steadfast commitment to Indian Country and its dedication to ensuring that tribes and Indian peoples’ communication needs receive fair consideration at the Commission,” said Tex G. Hall, president of NCAI. “We would especially like to highlight the FCC’s work in fostering the government-to-government relationships between tribes and the federal government. Through its consumer information, rulemaking process, and educational seminars, the FCC has worked hard to promote the availability of telecommunications services to individuals living on tribal lands, including both Indian reservations and Alaskan Native lands.”
For more information visit www.fcc.gov.
