The sunlight peeked through the clouds to give a dash of sunshine to attendees of the 31st annual Arizona Indian Festival, held the first weekend of February at the Scottsdale Civic Center. 

The festival and tourism event featured several booths from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, in addition to many more from Arizona’s 22 tribal nations. Each year, the goal of the festival is to continue to uplift and spotlight the cultures, traditions, and languages of the tribes in Arizona, as well as developing Indigenous tourism for the state.  

The emcee for this year’s event was James Bilagody (Diné). 

Festival-goers were treated to a basket weaving class taught by SRPMIC mother and daughter duo, Alice Manuel and Raeann Brown. At the next booth over, Cody Achin, Cultural Outreach coordinator, held a presentation where he demonstrated the traditional construction of sandwich houses and how the SRPMIC came to be many generations ago. 

Staff from Discover Salt River gave away gifts to all who visited their vendor booth as they detailed the many enterprises located in the SRPMIC/Scottsdale area. 

Additionally, SRPMIC member and owner of Beaded Plume, Maricela Hinojosa, sold her elegant jewelry at her booth while sharing stories about her artistic process and Community with buyers. 

Later in the day, the SRPMIC Basket Dancers also performed. 

Throughout the festival, U.S. Marine Ira Hayes was honored, as 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of one of the most recognizable photographs in U.S. history, “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima.” The late Hayes is from the Gila River Indian Community. 

“Before we start, we just want to recognize Ira Hayes for his duty to his country,” said Maxwell Talahytewa, a member of the Hopi Dance Group, prior to their performance. Moments later, applause was heard. “As Natives, it’s important we recognize all of those who served,” he added. 

The Pascua Yaqui Deer Dancers, Yavapai-Apache “Little Warriorettes,” and more rounded out the two-day weekend festival with performances. 

For information on next year’s festival, interested individuals can contact the Arizona American Indian Tourism Association directly at 602-299-9576 or by emailing azindianfestival@gmail.com.