Arts and Culture Preservation Program
Youth/Elder Initiative

Students have fun during traditional pottery class.

Members of the Tohono O'odham Nation are striving to lift their peo-ple, their children in particular, by creating hope, cultural pride and economic opportunities.

The tribe's territory is in the heart of the Sonoran Desert, 60 miles west of Tucson, Arizona. Their land spans 4,600 square miles, a region larger than the state of Connecticut. Per capita income is $3,113, with fewer than half of the young people finishing high school. Yet, almost three-fourths of the tribe are 25 years old or younger.

In the face of these facts, the leaders in 1996 established an organization to foster cultural revitalization and community development. Forming a strong cultural identity is important to the development of young people. "Who are we? What does it mean to be Tohono O'odham in today's world? Through our arts and culture programs, we strive to help young people answer these questions," notes Co-Director Terrol Dew Johnson.

To help youth develop a strong cultural identity, Tohono O'odham Community Action (TOCA) offers after-school and summer arts and culture programs that cover a wide cultural spectrum— traditional mask-making, pottery, basketry, story-telling, oral history activities, and traditional singing and dancing— all to preserve and rejuvenate the O'odham legacy.

TOCA also coordinates an Elder/Youth Outreach Initiative where young people and elders join together to share cultural knowledge. Working together, for example, elders and youth have brought back the jujkida—the rain ceremony—to a village where it had not been performed in more than 30 years.

What perhaps distinguishes TOCA's work with youth, however, is its commitment to the education and development of their youth in the context of community. Young people are engaged in activities that address the challenges faced by their families, villages and tribe as a whole. TOCA's assumption is that the well-being and future of the Tohono community rests with its young people—their contributions to community solutions today and to community leadership tomorrow. Once these young people reach maturity, they will be grounded in their rich cultural heritage, and they will have the skills to shepherd their people.

These varied ventures add up to hope for Tohono O'odham's survival. The intent, simply, is to teach children the O'odham Himdag— "the Desert People's Way."