A resolution discussed Monday at the National Congress of American Indians calls on Congress to reject proposed funding cuts to NPR and PBS and to oppose the elimination of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The cuts were introduced with an executive order by President Trump on May 1 and the proposal to eliminate the CPB is included in the fiscal year 2026 budget proposal. Among the news organizations that receive funding through the CPB are Vision Maker Media, Pacific Islanders in Communications and Koahnic Broadcast Corporation.

The resolution states that PIC, based in Honolulu, “ensures a multiplicity of programs and people stories from Native Hawaiians for public television.”

It also notes that “since 1976, VMM has supported up to 15 professional film productions for PBS annually, primarily with CPB funding, generating hundreds of jobs and a return of three times its federal funding in rural and Native communities’ economies.”

KBC, a Native media company headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska with an office in Albuquerque, New Mexico, produces Native content, “including award-winning national Native programs, Native America Calling and National Native News.”

Resolution targets cuts to NPR, PBS and the elimination of CPB