Circle of Nations, a new Tempe Union High School District pathway program, hosted an O’odham/Piipaash night at Mountain Pointe High School on Feb. 26 featuring bingo, dinner, educational vendor booths and more. 

3 Takeaways:
– The Circle of Nations pathway program is available for Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community students enrolled in the Tempe Union High School District. 
– Mountain Pointe High School will host Circle of Nations during the 2026-2027 academic year.
– Aarick Mack and Cody Achin headlined the O’odham/Piipaash celebration. 

Circle of Nations, an all-new pathway program geared to help students catch up on credits and find their journeys after graduation, hosted an O’odham/Piipaash celebration at Tempe’s Mountain Pointe High School on Feb. 26 featuring a who’s who of leaders, speakers, performers and more from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and the Gila River Indian Community. 

The new program is open to any student but is geared toward Indigenous students. It’s a special learning track that combines strong academics with opportunities to learn from tribal elders, community partners and cultural projects in the subjects of English and social studies.

The night celebrated the cultures, traditions, songs and dances of the O’odham and Piipaash. It was organized with the help of Mountain Pointe High School, the Tempe Union High School District, the SRPMIC and GRIC, and students’ families/guardians.

From the SRPMIC, Aristina Sanchez, Marley Dallas, Jizelle Juan, Jorge Gonzales and many more attended the night’s celebration. 

Federal Programs Director Charlotte Windsor and Circle of Nations Program Lead Valerie Molina served dinner to the many guests in attendance. To make the night truly memorable, Windsor and Molina made sure to blast a music playlist featuring nothing but chicken scratch.  

With the dinner menu curated by Ernie’s Catering, everyone had enough squash and cheese to eat. Additionally, the menu featured tepary beans with homemade cemait and O’odham corn cookies for a sweet dessert treat.

Following dinner, Aarick Mack and Cody Achin served as the judges for O’odham/Piipaash bingo. Each contestant received a bingo card which featured names of O’odham and Piipaash foods. 

“Let me hear you say, ‘Nyaaa Mark!’,” said Achin.  

“Everyone say, ‘He:m Ge:g Ant!’,” said Mack. 

While Mack and Achin reviewed the bingo cards from each of the winning contestants, vendor booths were set up out in the campus’ auditorium lobby. Staff from the Salt River Schools Community Relations Office, Tohono O’odham Community College, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and more greeted families and guests and informed them about the many ways they can assist their students. 

The team at Circle of Nations will continue working with Tempe Union High School District counselors and administrators to help identify which students may benefit from Circle of Nations’ ample list of resources, guidance and tutoring to help ensure they experience successes inside and outside the classroom.

The Circle of Nations program will be held at Mountain Pointe High School in the 2026-2027 academic year. Marcos de Niza will host the program in the following school year. 

For more information, email circleofnations@tempeunion.org.