On Sunday, Aug. 2, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians is launching a three-part tribal advertising campaign designed to inform the community about the tribe and help create a positive dialogue.

“There is a lot of misinformation out in the community about our tribe,” said Vincent Armenta, Tribal Chairman of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. “We believe it is important to not only refute all the factual inaccuracies but also continue focusing on building a stronger, more positive community.”

The campaign includes a series of full page/full color print ads and 30-second TV spots that will run in local media outlets.

“Part 1 of the campaign, titled, ‘Truth,’ is a powerful way to demonstrate how beautiful the truth is,” said Hildy Medina, public relations manager for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians and its enterprises. “The print ads and broadcast spots in this first piece disprove quotes from tribal opponents and move forward in a positive way.”

The second part of the campaign, “We are the Valley,” tells the story of the Santa Ynez Valley and how it has become the thriving, wonderful community it is — from the earliest Chumash ancestors to the joint efforts of current residents and tribal members.

The third and final piece of the campaign, “Foundation Partners,” focuses on the community partners of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Foundation. 

“These ads highlight the tribe’s partnerships and demonstrate the wonderful contributions these non-profit organizations make in the community,” said Medina. The three organizations featured are the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) for Children and People Helping People.

All the print ads and broadcast spots will direct the audience to a new stand-alone website, www.FriendsOfChumash.com with a goal to provide educational information on the tribe and build a coalition of community support for the tribe. The site will also house all the print ads and broadcast spots as they are released.

“This tribal ad campaign is emotional, powerful and bold and gets our tribe’s message across in a compelling way,” said Chairman Armenta. “We believe the campaign will invite the audience to take notice and begin a positive dialogue that focuses on ways to build a stronger community.”

The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians is located in Santa Barbara County, California. The tribe owns and operates the popular Chumash Casino Resort on its reservation and also owns two hotels and a restaurant in the nearby town of Solvang — Hotel Corque, Hadsten House and Root 246 — as well as two gas stations in Santa Ynez.

—Mike Traphagen represents the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.