Media

NAHC Media became a social enterprise in 2012 to help bring in revenue to the community and organization. Through creating community centered and generated outreach and promotional materials, NAHC Media works to combat the mainstream media sources that reinforce the effects of historical trauma on Native peoples. NAHC Media works to provide our community members with the skills to create media independently, telling stories in our own way with our own voices. This helps to build valuable media based skills that contribute to the economic development opportunities of our community. In creating these forms of media through our community, NAHC Media serves as an educator to the general population on current issues in the Native community, the historical context in which we have come to live, and wellness models that speak to Native values.

Brief History of NAHC's Media Center

The Media Center at the Native American Health Center (NAHC) was established in January 2011 to support the mission statement of NAHC in providing services that improve and maintain physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual well-being with respect for cultural traditions for all Native people. The Media Center has been a part of that mission through the creation, support, and education of original media in print, film, sound, and web.

The Media Center allows NAHC to execute media marketing strategies from the perspective of community members of the San Francisco Bay Area Urban Indian community, because the media team on staff are committed members and allies of the community. One of the challenges of making media in Urban Indian communities is the ability to develop trust, something NAHC’s Media Center has accomplished during the past year and through long standing personal connections, therefore community members are not only welcoming at events but anticipate and rely on NAHC’s Media Center to be there to support documentation and promotion. Overall, trust has been placed in the integrity of the organization and the final product to be culturally competent and community based.

The Media Center further serves department and community media needs through technical assistance and workshops, program highlights and event promotion/documentation. The Media Center creates original flyers, posters, postcards, songs, shorts, promotions, documentaries, and soon feature films that are culturally relevant and reflect the complexities and interweaving’s of an urban experience through the use of traditional and urban imagery.

The Media Center is also a major part of the agency wide initiative to have more consistent communication between NAHC departments, other Native organizations and the community. The NAHC’s website, events calendar, Facebook, Linkedin, agency blog and Twitter are all contained within the Media Center to promote efficiency and the most productive uses for all media.

The NAHC Media Team offers Culturally Competent Digital Storytelling Workshops to the community and to community partners. Check out some of our stories by clicking the icon below:

To find out more about how to participate in a workshop yourself, or to bring a workshop to your organization, contact Parke Ballantine at: parkeb@nativehealth.org.

For All Other Questions, comments, or to Utilize our Services, Email: nahcmedia@nativehealth.org