On February 2, the O’odham Piipaash Language Program (OPLP) hosted its first virtual O’odham strand necklace class over Zoom. More than 20 participants of all skill levels came together to create a simple strand necklace. Each participant was given a small beading kit provided by the OPLP. Instructors Daryl Jay and Kaitlin Martinez started each session with a blessing and a song, which were prerecorded and played through sharing the screen. Jay explained the significance of the blessing and the song, which encouraged each class member to have an open mind and a good heart while creating their necklace. 

The class met through Zoom on Tuesdays and Thursdays for two weeks. The first half of each session focused on teaching the techniques of beading, while the last half was for answering students’ questions and learning a little history, along with some O’odham vocabulary words implemented to help further students’ connection to the culture.