By Nalani Lopez Each February, UNITY, United National Indian Tribal Youth, hosts a midyear conference in preparation for the organization’s annual conference in July. The three-day conference held February 2-4 in downtown Phoenix brought together more than 700 tribal youth from communities across the United States. Members of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community’s Young […]

By Kari Haahr To cap off Scottsdale’s annual Western Week celebration, which began on January 27, the Arizona American Indian Tourism Association held its annual Arizona Indian Festival on February 3 and 4 at the Scottsdale Civic Center.  While Western Week as a whole is a celebration of Scottsdale’s identity as part of the “Old […]

By Nalani Lopez In recent decades, the traditional game of toka has found its way back to the O’odham women of the Sonoran Desert. In the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Community member Jessica Ruiz, shared the ins and outs of the recreational sport with interested women on January 31 at the Salt River Tribal Library. The […]

By Nalani Lopez Inside the Accelerated Learning Academy on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, sounds of cumbia music filled the halls as students and families gathered for Salt River Schools’ Education Native Language and Culture Program’s Vaila Night on January 17. In the ALA cafeteria, the great tunes could be traced to the band […]

The Healthy Lifestyle Series, a program offered by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community’s Recreational and Educational Services, continued its January events with Edward “Pacer” Reina sharing his wellness journey.  On January 17, inside the Accelerated Learning Academy auditorium, Reina spoke and led a slideshow presentation discussing his childhood, his football career in high school, […]

In 2004, Annie Hopkins created 3E Love (Embrace, Educate, Empower), a unity brand promoting personal acceptance. The brand converted into a company in 2007 when Annie and her brother Stevie Hopkins launched 3E Love as an LLC with the intent of promoting their unique symbol and brand.  The company’s trademarked International Symbol of Acceptance (a […]

The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Dance group Bird Singing and Dancing by the River has completed their winter 2023 season of performances throughout the Valley.  Ki-Ana Reina assisted the SRPMIC dance group as they traveled to Ak-Chin Indian Community in December to participate in the annual Masik Tas Celebration, taking part in the final […]

The local Indigenous artist continuum Hekiu won the award for Best Community Group/Organization at the 26th annual Tempe Human Relations Commission MLK Diversity Awards Ceremony on January 8 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Tempe. The annual awards are hosted by the City of Tempe and the Human Relations Commission. They honor people and […]