Native languages on AK radio program

The Nov 17 edition of the Alaska Public Radio Network program AK featured several short segments on Native language. Unfortunately, much of the reporting reveals an old bias against granting indigenous languages the same status as world languages such as English. The program makes repeated reference to various Athabascan "dialects" in Alaska, or to the similarity of Alaskan dialects and Navaho. Why is it that journalists who would never think to refer to English as a "European dialect" have no problem whatsoever relegating Alaska Native languages to dialect status?