FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: News Media Contact:

May 8, 2001 Meribeth McCarrick at (202) 418-0654

e-mail: mmccarri@fcc.gov

**FCC ANNOUNCES PARTICIPATING SPEAKERS FOR THE**

**INDIAN TELECOM TRAINING INITIATIVE 2001 INDUSTRY CONFERENCE**

**"Doing Business in Indian Country"**

Washington, D.C. - The Federal Communications Commission today announced
the names of over 30 speakers for the FCC\'s Indian Telecom Training
Initiative (ITTI) 2001 Industry Conference entitled "Doing Business in
Indian Country." The FCC in cooperation with the National Exchange
Carrier Association and the American Indian Higher Education Consortium,
and with program support from National Indian Telecommunications
Institute, is hosting this exceptional event June 3-5 at the Radisson
Hotel in St. Paul, Minnesota.

"I encourage business leaders in telecommunications and utilities to
attend this event in order to learn from Native American experts how to
successfully develop business ventures in Indian Country," said Tom
Sugrue, Chief of the FCC's Wireless Bureau. "Business opportunities
exist where telecommunications companies can work with tribal
governments to provide service and increase access to all types of
telecommunications services."

The exceptional group of speakers at this event includes leaders of
tribal governments such as Kelsey Begaye (Navajo), President, Navajo
Nation; Tex Hall (Mandan-Hidatsa) Chairman, Three Affiliated Tribes of
North Dakota; A. Wayne Taylor (Hopi), Chairman, Hopi Tribe; and, Brian
Wallace (Washoe), Chairman, Tribe of Nevada and California.

Other Native Americans leaders in business and education speaking at
this event include: Susan Masten (Yurok), President, National Congress
of American Indians; Dr. Lionel Bordeaux (Lakota), President, Sinte
Gleska University; The Honorable Lynda Lovejoy (Navajo) Commissioner,
New Mexico Public Regulation Commission; Mark Van Norman (Cheyenne River
Sioux), Executive Director, National Indian Gaming Association; Karen
Buller (Comanche), President, National Indian Telecommunications
Institute; Joe McDonald (Salish Kootenai), President, Salish Kootenai
College; Lance Morgan (Winnebago), President, Ho-Chunk, Inc.; Roger Boyd
(Navajo), Program Manager, Department of Treasury, Community Development
Financial Institutions Fund; Jacqueline Johnson (Tlingit Tribe), US
Department of Housing and Urban Development; and, Ken Robbins (Lakota),
President, National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development.
In addition, Wallace Coffey (Comanche), who is the Tribal Liaison for
the Institute of American Indian Arts, will be the conference's master
of ceremonies.

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"Doing Business in Indian Country" is specifically targeted to business
leaders in the telecommunications and utility industries. Native
American business leaders will discuss business opportunities in Indian
Country and present success stories. In addition, attendees will learn
how tribal governments work and the "Do's and Don'ts of Doing Business
in Indian Country." The conference will address industry questions and
educate attendees on how to initiate contact and develop programs with
tribal governments. The conference will cover topics such as: business
opportunities in Indian Country; how to work with tribal governments;
tribal sovereignty issues; and, community protocols and concerns as they
relate to building telecommunications and utilities infrastructure and
markets.

The FCC's ITTI conferences are part of various efforts at the Commission
to address the lack of access to telecommunications services in Indian
Country. For more information regarding Indian Initiatives at the FCC
please visit the FCC's website at: http://www.fcc.gov/indians/ITTI

For more press information on this event, please contact Atif Harden at
(202) 418-7931 or Dan Rumelt at (202) 418-7512.

For FCC ITTI Seminar Contact : Kathy Garland at (717)338-2888 or Nancy
Plon at (202) 418-2899; TTY at (202) 418-8233.

To register for this event contact NECA-ITTI 2001: at 1-800-351-9033.

-FCC-