One of the country’s largest Urban Indian Organizations has opened a 76-unit affordable housing project in Oakland built around a simple premise: Culture is prevention.
For the nonprofit Native American Health Center Inc., the new development — called Flicker — is not just a housing project. The building also includes a dental clinic with 19 treatment rooms and a cultural gathering space intended for powwows, drum groups, beading circles and other community programming designed to strengthen Native cultural connection in the Bay Area.
The project reflects a broader philosophy that housing stability, health care access and cultural connection are deeply intertwined, particularly for Native people living in urban areas, said Chirag Patel, NAHC director of planning and development.
Native American Health Center is one of the country’s largest Urban Indian Organizations and among the largest Native employers in the Bay Area, with about 100 Native staff members among its 300 employees.
“[Our community health] program acts as the glue between the bricks that hold someone’s care together,” Patel told Tribal Business News. “Through that program, we see a strong connection between housing and health care. The vision for Flicker came from our community and what they told us they needed.”
The development opened last week after years of planning and financing. The project ultimately cost between $80 million and $85 million, combining state and federal grants, a capital campaign and New Markets Tax Credits. The tax credits were deployed by Community Impact Partners, Community Hospitality Healthcare Services and Broadstreet Impact Services, Patel said.
NAHC partnered with Satellite Affordable Housing Associates to manage the residential component and assemble financing for the project. The organization’s capital campaign significantly exceeded expectations, raising more than $10 million against an initial $2 million goal.
The project also received substantial state support. According to the California Department of Housing and Community Development, Flicker received $28.1 milliion through a combination of Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery, Infill Infrastructure Grant, Multifamily Housing and No Place Like Home programs. The project also received a $1.6 million cleanup grant through the state’s Equitable Communities Revitalization program for site remediation.
The housing component responds to the Bay Area’s high cost of living and the disproportionate rates of homelessness experienced by Native people in cities. The 76 units serve families earning between 20% and 50% of area median income, including residents exiting or at risk of homelessness. On‑site support services are designed to help residents maintain long‑term housing stability and connect with health care.
Expanding access to dental care was a major driver behind the project. Before Flicker, new dental patients across Alameda County often faced waits of six to nine months, according to Patel.
The cultural component of the project was equally important, Patel said. Many Native residents in urban areas lack consistent access to Native community spaces, ceremonies and cultural programming — something NAHC views as directly connected to health outcomes.
Flicker’s cultural space will host powwows, Indigenous Red Market events and other community gatherings, while also creating a centralized location for traditional healers and culturally based wellness programming.
“That is why we emphasize cultural programming. We believe culture is prevention,” Patel said. “These activities bring people together and also serve as psychosocial interventions that help connect them to medical, dental or behavioral health care.”
NAHC CEO Natalie Aguilera described Flicker as an extension of that work.
“Flicker represents what is possible when we treat housing as healthcare and center culture as a critical part of healing,” Aguilera said in a statement. “This space was built with and for the community — from the ground up. It honors the land, reflects Native American cultures, and creates a place where families can access care, find stability, and stay connected to culture.”
Brian Edwards contributed reporting.
About The Author
Staff Writer
Chez Oxendine (Lumbee-Cheraw) is a staff writer for Tribal Business News. Based in Oklahoma, he focuses on broadband, Indigenous entrepreneurs, and federal policy. His journalism has been featured in Native News Online, Fort Gibson Times, Muskogee Phoenix, Baconian Magazine, and Oklahoma Magazine, among others.
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