The Cultural Resources Department (CRD) and Dallas Construction, a business owned by Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community member David Dallas, celebrated a construction milestone with a “topping out” ceremony on June 9 at the former Day School site now known as the Kavaḍ/Kushov Cultural Center. Kavaḍ (O’odham) and Kushov (Piipaash) translate to “shield” in English.

 Located on the corner of Longmore and McDowell Roads, the Day School site operated as a school for SRPMIC children for over 70 years and served as a gathering place for a variety of Community functions over time.

Community members who were in an apprenticeship training program at the Phoenix Indian School between 1934 and 1935 built the Day School.

Once the project is fully completed by the end of 2025, the Cultural Center will house CRD offices and will include public classrooms and gathering spaces, such as a fiber weaving classroom, a demonstration kitchen, separate O’odham and Piipaash language classrooms, grass courtyards and more.

The ceremony occurred in the reconstructed auditorium on the center’s south end .. A large beam of wood sat at the end of the stage. At the conclusion of the ceremony, Community leadership and ceremony guests signed their names on the beam. The last polls had already been placed in a previous construction phase, making the beam signing symbolic.

Next to the beam was a sign with the names of Community members and Community member-owned businesses that helped in the construction of the project.

“Now to have a list of those who helped restore [the former Day School site], 100 years from now, people are going to that these individuals were a part of this,” President Martin Harvier said.

“Seeing the pictures of the auditorium being occupied immediately brought back a flood of emotions,” wrote one Community member (Chalice Schurz) in a comment on the Cultural Resources Facebook page.

Memories of the Day School tend to range from negative to positive, depending on the Community members’ experiences and perspectives.

CRD Director Kelly Washington noted that the ceremony was a blend of traditions. As a tribal community, its celebrations are historically rooted in the traditions of the O’odham and the Piipaash. However, as Washington explained, the topping out ceremony originates from a Scandinavian ceremonial practice of placing the last pine tree timber atop the roof.

“For one, that was to kind of appease the tree-living spirits that they had displaced,” Washington explained.

“From what I read, it also had practical purposes, that when the needles would fall off that tree, then they knew that the frame had cured, and it was time to roof it.”

Vice-President Ricardo Leonard made a surprise appearance at the lectern.

“I just want to remember all those people who passed through [the former Day School site]. Many people have passed on,” Leonard said.

He recalled a couple of stories about the site, one about tiny urinals at the Day School and another about two fighter jets that used to be housed near the site.

“It’s a big milestone for the project,” Dallas said. “All we have left is doors and we’re 100% closed. We’re already moved on to finishes.”

After the site is completed, there will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony and event for Community members to attend and celebrate.