Chris Picciuolo

News reporter

(480) 274-7252 - Chris.Picciuolo@SRPMIC-nsn.gov
Chris Picciuolo is from Aurora, Illinois. Previously, he worked as a photojournalist for the Ak-Chin O'odham Runner Newspaper in Ak-Chin, Arizona, and as news editor and production specialist at NCTV17 in Naperville, Illinois.

Hekiu Art Collective Creates Land Acknowledgement Video for Tempe, and Other Updates

3 Takeaways: The Indigenous art collective Hekiu (meaning “past” in O’odham), featuring members of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, has been busy advising, consulting and providing resources for local collaborators, which include municipalities and tribal entities. Hekiu members help bridge the gap between non-Indigenous and Indigenous cultural knowledge and...

October 30, 2025

A Spooktacular Haunted Carnival to remember!

The Safe Schools & Security Team @saltriverschools brought the event to the ALA football field on Oct. 28. Here are some of our favorite eerie moments from the night. Video by reporter Chris Picciuolo

October 23, 2025

OAN Podcast Episode 49 – James & Ernie Comedy Duo

The following episode contains topics regarding trauma, addiction and recovery. This can be triggering to some listeners. Please take care while listening. The O’odham Action News Podcast is back! In this episode, news reporter Chris Picciuolo has a conversation with comedy duo James & Ernie ahead of their upcoming comedy...

October 21, 2025

Online Exclusive: Native Comedy Night with Tonia Jo Hall and James & Ernie

Three takeaways: Salt River, clear your schedule for Sunday, Nov. 2, and get ready to laugh until your cheeks hurt! It’s Native Comedy Night at the Showroom at Casino Arizona featuring solo act Tonia Jo Hall and the first contemporary Native American comedy duo in the U.S., James & Ernie....

October 17, 2025

Rianna Tate Wins Match at Spartan Invitational 19

With a hulking black helicopter parked behind them and the Superstition Mountains in the background, the Rezdogs Jiu Jitsu team from the Wa:k San Xavier District on the Tohono O’odham Nation joined Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community member Rianna “Ona Bear” Tate in a circle and stacked their hands in...

October 14, 2025

Evaluating the Future of the SRMG Dobson Site

The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community has begun outreach to inform the Community about efforts to explore opportunities for growth, revenue and sustainability around the southwestern edge of the Community. These efforts are related to land use on and around the 250-acre Salt River Materials Group (SRMG) Dobson site, located...

October 2, 2025

SRPMIC WIC Honors Moms and Their Village with Breastfeeding Support

3 Takeaways: During National Breastfeeding Month in August, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community WIC program made sure to champion mothers and their important role in the Community. On August 21, WIC held a “celebration of breastfeeding support” at the River People Health Center lobby with the theme “Honoring Moms...

September 30, 2025

Rianna Tate Wins Caged Grappling Match Sept. 20, 2025 (Video)

Video by OAN Reporter Chris Picciuolo

September 19, 2025

Getting to Know SRPMIC Member Don ‘Wild Eagle’ Wuebber

Don “Wild Eagle” Wuebber is an enrolled Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community member who grew up on the East Coast in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. He was born at Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix and was adopted at 3 months old. Now, at 57, he lives in Pennsylvania...

1 of 65

Jacob Butler Becomes Chair of Native Seeds/SEARCH

After serving on the board of Native Seeds/SEARCH since 2017, Community Garden Coordinator Jacob Butler will now serve as chair of the board for the nonprofit seed-conservation organization based in Tucson. Butler has a big presence in the Community, having served as Community garden coordinator for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community for 16 years. […]

Taté Walker Talks ‘The Trickster Riots’ and Collaborating With Family

Salt River Schools Communications and Public Affairs Director Taté Walker (Lakota citizen of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of South Dakota) has released a new poetry collection called “The Trickster Riots” with illustrations by their 14-year-old child, painter and graphic artist Ohíya Walker (Lakota citizen of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe/Red Lake Ojibwe/Mvskoke Creek). For […]

Winners Crowned at 2023-24 Jr. Miss Salt River and Miss Salt River Pageant

On June 17, the 31st Annual Jr. Miss Salt River Pageant and 35th Annual Miss Salt River Pageant, presented by the Miss Salt River Committee, took place at the Salt River Pi-Copa Gym in front of an audience filled with Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community members, families and royalty from around Indian Country. The annual […]

Indigenous Chef Pyet DeSpain Wins ‘Next Level Chef’

Indigenous chef Pyet DeSpain (Prairie Band of Potawatomi/Mexican) recently made her mark on the culinary world by winning Fox’s latest cooking show competition, “Next Level Chef.” In the show, 15 contestants from around the country went all in with their cooking skills on three levels of kitchens, each level with its own degree of difficulty, […]

Latest Issue