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.

Saddleback Communications Launches Salt River Connect for Business Customers

Saddleback Communications, a business enterprise of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, debuted Salt River Connect as its new dedicated brand for services to its business customers. Salt River Connect serves commercial organizations in the Loop 101 business corridor and across the greater Scottsdale area. Customers served by Salt River...

July 9, 2026

Salt River Firefighter Oscar Merritt Retires

After 26 years of service with the Salt River Fire Department as a firefighter/paramedic, Oscar Merritt has retired. The SRFD held a retirement gathering for Merritt on June 1 at the new fire department headquarters on Chaparral Road. Merritt’s family members sat beside him as he listened to the many...

July 7, 2026

Discover Salt River Celebrates Tourism and O’odham New Year at Great Wolf Lodge

S’he:kig Vecij ‘Ahidag! (“Happy New Year” in O’odham) Mataam Mpisxaayk Nyshnyaash Xotk (“New Year’s Day Is Good” in Piipaash) Discover Salt River, the tourism division of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, invited Community partners to Great Wolf Lodge on June 9 for their annual meeting and Salt River New...

July 3, 2026

Native Youth Compete in D-Backs Intertribal Baseball Tournament at Salt River

Days after parading around the warning track at Chase Field for a pre-game Native American Recognition Day celebration, Native American youth athletes took to the diamond to compete in the D-Backs Inter-Tribal Youth Baseball & Softball Tournament, presented by Talking Stick Resort, from June 8 to 11. All games were...

July 2, 2026

Salt River Represents at D-Backs Native American Recognition Day

The Arizona Diamondbacks honored members of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and other tribal communities from across the state on June 7 at Chase Field in Phoenix with their annual Native American Recognition Day, also known as NARD. Before the Diamondbacks players took the field, Native Americans were placed...

June 22, 2026

Memorial Day Ceremony at Lehi Veterans Memorial

Flags representing each branch of the U.S. military stirred in the quiet early morning Lehi breeze as the sun climbed over Red Mountain. The American flag waved tallest in the middle as the sunlight illuminated the red desert soil surrounding the Lehi Cemetery on May 25 during the Memorial Day...

June 8, 2026

Community Garden Debuts New Chicken Coop

If you have visited the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community’s Community Garden recently, you might have heard a few clucks coming from a new chicken coop. In addition to the garden’s vegetables and other food items, there are now a few chickens—and, occasionally, pigs—to provide sustenance and farm animal education...

June 2, 2026

Kavaḍ/Kushov Cultural Center Grand Opening (Video)

The Shield of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community has officially been raised. Generations of Community members convened for the grand opening of the Kavaḍ/Kushov Cultural Center on May 2, experiencing a significant moment in time. The center is located across from the Community Building, north of McDowell Road. The...

June 1, 2026

Rooted in Tradition, Rising Together at Law Day 2026

The Salt River Justice Center was a popular place to be on May 1, but not because the courtrooms were full of real cases. Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community members and tribal government and court employees were there to take part in the annual all-day Law Day event. Each year...

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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 […]

Traditional O’odham Plants: Desert Ephedra

As more O’odham and Piipaash members of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community are going back to their roots and getting to know more about the traditional uses of the plants on the land, O’odham Action News spoke with community garden technician Amson Collins to help educate the Community about these plants. In January 2022 […]

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, […]

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