Native American After-School Program

Hello Friends,

We hope you are having a beautiful end of summer and beginning of the new school year! The monsoons have been generous this year in the Sonoran Desert. Native American Advancement Foundation (NAAF)'s outdoor learning classroom: Ruth's Garden or Ruth's Oidag is happy and hydrated.

For Earth Day, students were gifted science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) projects of solar robots to build and seed packets for home gardens. NAAF educators have integrated several take home garden packets through the spring and summer with hands on learning in Ruth's Oidag and produce harvests for home meals (fresh lettuces, carrots, kales, tomatoes, watermelon, sunflower seeds and blue corn). All lessons connect STEM and healthy food to Tohono O'odham language and Sonoran Desert geography.

This summer, NAAF hosted COVID-19 safe sessions of Bahidaj Harvest Camp! The saguaro cactus, or ha:san in Tohono O'odham language, is the most recognizable and beloved symbol of the Sonoran Desert. In Tohono O'odham culture, late June and early July when ha:sañ blooms and fruits is the beginning of the new year. To celebrate a new year and teach Tohono O'odham language, culture, ecology and food systems, NAAF held Bahidaj (ha:sañ fruit) Harvest Camp for small groups of students. Multiple sessions were held over six weeks, to keep students within their family/relative groups for Center for Disease Control and Prevention precautions. This camp is the core of integrated learning: a combination of ecology and STEM skills with traditional culture---and a great time!

This summer, NAAF supported an incredible group of young people called We R1 Basketball Team, representing the western side of the Tohono O'odham Nation at the national Native American Basketball Invitation and Youth Summit (NABI), held in Phoenix, AZ from July 11-17. Young people participated in sports and health/wellness activities and were guests at the Arizona Diamondbacks' Native American Recognition Night. With the NAAF Student Services team, the players visited several colleges and attended financial aid training. Students participated at jr. high and high school level events.

Through the summer, NAAF educators have been hard at work planning the new academic year, working with regional schools and the Tohono O'odham Nation Department of Education on COVID-19 protocols. We are creating more methods to facilitate student success, as digital learning becomes de rigeur in our remote geography. The GuVo Community Remote Learning Center (RLC) has expanded education and support services to satellite locations in GuVo District and the western side of the Tohono O'odham Nation. We are collaborating with diverse partners for academic and enrichment opportunities for students, ages preschool to adult, including music, early reading, adult literacy, and post-secondary education preparation.

We are excited to share our new academic and cultural programming for the 2021-2022 School Year. And on behalf of students and their families in GuVo District, Tohono O'odham Nation: we thank YOU.

S'apo and Good Health

Links:

• NAAF Newsletters and Eblasts