To celebrate Native American Heritage Month in the U.S. this November, Nielsen launched a new business resource group (BRG) for employees called Native American, Tribal and Indigenous Voices (NATIV), committed to increasing visibility and representation of native, tribal and indigenous people at Nielsen and across the entire media industry. 

Charlene Polite Corley, VP, Diverse Insights & Partnerships and Executive Sponsor of NATIV, said, “Ending the erasure of Native Americans in media is long overdue. It’s time to ensure their stories are told and told authentically. I’m so proud to be an ally as NATIV’s executive sponsor and also use Nielsen’s insights to show the industry the importance of recognizing and valuing the Native American community.” 

During its inaugural event on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2021, NATIV shared the vision and mission of Nielsen’s newest BRG hosted by NATIV national co-leads, Jerrell Olbekson and Erick Santero, both of whom identify as members and advocates of Native communities. The BRG’s goals include sharing Native culture and media resources, fostering community engagement, and enhancing recruiting and retention efforts.

Leah Salgado, IllumiNative Chief Impact Officer, provided the keynote presentation for NATIV’s launch event. She shared how IllumiNative, a national Native-led nonprofit organization, strives to amplify contemporary Native voices, stories and issues to advance justice, equity and social impact. Joining in the effort to amplify Native voices, Nielsen has partnered with IllumiNative to share insights on Native representation in the media.

Supporting the Native American community is not new to Nielsen. Our company also works with Native American vendors as part of our business diversity program. Arrowhead, Nielsen’s newest diverse tech supplier, is Native American-owned. We recently launched Arrowhead’s e-commerce catalog for IT products, and Arrowhead’s CEO, Chad Hill, shared his story during a launch event with Nielsen employees. 

“Working with Arrowhead is an example of how business diversity demonstrates our values of inclusion, courage and growth. By working with a diverse company like Arrowhead to develop capacity, we are driving more diversity not just in our own supply chain, but also potentially in the supply chains of our suppliers and clients,” said Jocelyn Azada, Nielsen’s Business Diversity Leader.