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NCAI President Joe Garcia Statement on Recent Insensitive, Racist Remarks by Radio DJs

By Anonymous

The National Congress of American Indians President Joe A. Garcia issues the following statement in response to recent on air slurs and racist remarks about Native people made by radio disc jockeys.

"The National Congress of American Indians condemns the racist and inflammatory remarks made recently about Native people on local radio programs in Raleigh, North Carolina and Anchorage, Alaska. These ignorant and hurtful comments have no place on America's airwaves.

As is the case when comments like these are made, someone will inevitably come to the defense of those who made them asking where our sense of humor has gone. I have yet to hear from an American Indian or Alaska Native who sees humor in these insulting and derogatory remarks. The perpetuation of inaccurate and demeaning stereotypes has profound negative consequences for Native people and simply cannot be tolerated.

I commend the sponsors who have pulled their support from these disgraceful programs and trust that the FCC will hold the stations accountable. We encourage the radio station owners and operators to work with local tribal community members to develop a plan to repair the damage these remarks have caused."

The recent remarks were made on Raleigh, North Carolina's G105 105.1-FM radio station's "Bob and the Showgram" and on the "Woody and Wilcox" morning show on KBFX 100.5-FM "The Fox," in Anchorage, Alaska.