[7] Based on an average taken in 2011, the Native American Health Center serves roughly 11,265 patients in the Bay Area per year.
As stated in their mission, their goal is to "provide comprehensive services to improve the health and wellbeing of American Indians, Alaska Natives, and residents of the surrounding communities, with respect for cultural and linguistic differences."
[10] The arrival of the Europeans in the 1500s disrupted their traditional way of life and resulted in a steady decline of the Native American population.
[11] The decline continued until the 1950s, when the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs' relocation program moved tens of thousands of Native Americans from reservations across the country to urban centers like San Francisco and Oakland.
[13] Many of these promises were kept by the Bureau of Indian Affairs who send relocated Native Americans to training schools, assisted them with a housing subsidy and provided job search and placement.
[14] During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Bay Area Native American community responded to the challenges of urban lifestyle and the broader cultural shifts taking place in society.
[16] Today, the Bay Area is home to one of the largest concentrations of Native Americans in the country with a diversity of over 240 nations represented.