National Congress of American Indians
66th Annual Convention & Tradeshow
Palm Springs, CA

National Congress of American Indians 2009

Telecommunications Sub-Committee Agenda
Tuesday October 13, and Wednesday October 14, 2009
Moderating: Geoffrey Blackwell, Corporate Director, Chickasaw Nation Industries

From Left:
Greg Smith, Partner, Smith and Brown-Yazzie Counsel to the United South and Eastern Tribes, Inc.
Sacred Sites Preservation and Tower Siting Issues in the Broadband Stimulus Funding Process

John Crigler, Senior Partner, Garvey Schubert Barer Establishing a Tribal Priority in Broadcast Spectrum Licensing at the FCC, and the Importance a Tribal Priority in Broadband Regulatory Arenas Counsel to Native Public Media and several Tribal broadcasters

Matthew R. Rantanen, Director of Technology Tribal Digital Village, Southern California Tribal Chairman's Association Lessons Learned in Applying for Broadband Funding in the First Round of BIP and BTOP Notice of Funds Availability

Susie Allen, Co-Chair for Telecommunications National Tribal Telecommunications Association Update

Eric Liang Jensen, Policy Counsel
National Tribal Telecommunications Association Update

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

June 2009

Companies and organizations serving Native about how the National Telecommunications and Information Administration ("NTIA") and Rural Utilities Service ("RUS") should implement broadband stimulus programs under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ("Recovery Act").

Native Public Media ("NPM"), which represents the interests ofTribal radio stations, said that Tribes must be able to help design and shape broadband systems that serve Tribal Lands, and that a failure to consult with Tribes on these matters would be inconsistent with the trust relationship between the federal government and the Tribes. It observed that broadband penetration on Indian lands is estimated at less than ten percent.