Native Public Media (NPM)

Go to the Native Public Media website.
Download the Native Public Media press release for January 9, 2007

Native Public Media promotes healthy, engaged, independent Native communities by strengthening and expanding Native American media capacity and by empowering a strong, proud Native American voice.

The struggle of Native America has long been the struggle for freedom. Fundamentally, the freedoms that are so important to all Americans are the same freedoms that are important to Native people: to be able to make our voices heard and make our own decisions about issues affecting our lives, our children, our health, our safety, our governments, and our homes. The effort to secure these freedoms, however, has time and again been undercut by a centuries-long legacy of economic and cultural exploitation and the resulting socio-economic conditions that have long kept Native people poor and powerless.

Native Public Media grew out of the strong commitment of leaders within Native public radio to expand the voice of Native America. Originally named the Center for Native American Public Radio, it was launched as a direct result of the first-ever Native Radio Summit, convened by the National Federation of Community Broadcasters and Native Media Resource Center in 2001. While retaining close connection to Native public radio, the leaders of the initiative quickly recognized that the key goal – expanding the voice of Native America – requires a long-term strategy that includes, but also transcends, radio. The new name reflects the organization’s explicit decision to empower Native people across the United States to participate actively in all forms of media, and to do it on our own terms.

Media has a vital role to play in supporting this economic and community development. The capacity of Native people to access, operate, produce, participate in and control our own media is critical to the future of Native America.

Native Public Media is committed to working for long-term, systemic change. To that end, Native Public Media has adopted a holistic strategy: 1) advocating for policies and funding practices that advance Native access to and control of media outlets; 2) developing a long-term vision and customizable media plan for Native America that embraces diverse platforms and enables broad participation; and 3) building media production capacity, distribution options, and community engagement among Native people.