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POLICY PROGRAM

Native Public Media understands that progressive policies and regulations, at both the national and international levels, encourage the expansion and strengthening of Native media through mediums and platforms that are genuinely community-based, local, and democratic and are critical to Indian Country.  With a proactive Policy Program of analysis, representation, and education, NPM works to secure a voice for Native Americans among policy-making bodies and media democracy movements promoting greater access and larger audiences for Native American voices.

NPM had testified before Congress, worked and filed numerous comments with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and remains the only Native American entity of the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) member working to advance the voices of indigenous peoples worldwide.

 

The goals of our Policy Program include the following:

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  1. Advancing the participation of Native Americans in the media reform movement and including Native issues on the national media reform agenda.

  2. Proactively participating in creating and shaping emerging national and international media policy to ensure the full inclusion of Native Americans and indigenous peoples.

  3. Ensuring the active inclusion of underrepresented voices in media by building the capacity of the Native media system. 

Missing and Endangered Persons (MEP)
Emergency Alert Code

Watch the FCC Adopt the MEP Event Code - August 2024 Open Commission Meeting

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announces FCC vote on August 7, 2024 to pass the MEP Event Code

MEP Notice of Proposed Rulemaking - June 2024

FCC March 2024 Open Commission Meeting

MEP Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

 

 

 

 

 

The Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts system (WEA) are used to distribute tens of thousands of warnings to the public every year, providing critical notice of emergencies ranging from severe weather events, such as tornados and hurricanes, to natural disasters, such as tsunamis and wildfires, to civil emergencies, such as AMBER alerts and law enforcement warnings. These emergency alerts provide critical information and empower affected communities to take appropriate action and aid public safety officials in their efforts to address emergencies. However, in the United States, in 2022, approximately 187,000 adults who fell outside of the criteria for either AMBER Alerts or Silver Alerts went missing. This MEP Emergency Alert Code would allow a more efficient and widespread dissemination of alerts and coordinated responses to incidents involving missing and endangered persons, an issue that is particularly prevalent in Tribal communities.

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The FCC Office of Native Affairs and Policy (ONAP) is seeking comments and feedback from Tribal leaders on the MEP Event Code. You can submit written comments directly to the docket for this proceeding via the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System, using the following docket numbers: PS 15-91 and PS 15-94. The NPRM was published in the Federal Register on April 18, 2024, announcing that public comments were due May 20, 2024, and reply comments were due June 17, 2024.

Published Comments:

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On Thursday, June 13, 2024, the FCC’s Office of Native Affairs and Policy (ONAP) will hold a Tribal consultation session in Phoenix, Arizona regarding the Federal Communications Commission’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would add a new “Missing and Endangered Person” (MEP) event code to the nation's Emergency Alert System. Further information about the FCC’s MEP event code proceeding can be found online at fcc.gov/MEP.

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This event will be held between 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm local time (4:00 pm to 6:00 pm EDT) at the Heard Museum, which is located at 2301 N. Central Avenue, in Phoenix, Arizona.

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FCC Tribal Consultation Session - Phoenix, AZ

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