T E X A R K A N A M A G A Z I N E
T E X A R K A N A M A G A Z I N E
Sydney Bowen LeGrand teaches VBS on the Reservation
Services offered through Native American Advancement Foundation After School Program Summer Learning Adventure Prevention Services Skate Spot GED Classes Pre-School Online School Gardening Skills Farming and Irrigation Running and Walking Club Boarding School Scholarships I:mig Project: Researching the dialect and language of GuVo District, consisting of elder interviews, language revitalization and curriculum writing Documenting Old Sacred Sites Environmental Projects including Water Harvesting Animal Welfare Girl’s Voices: Documenting the stories of young women growing up on the reservation, their dreams, ambitions and challenges. The Store: Provides access to food in a food desert. Internships Community Service for formerly Incarcerated Individuals Meal Delivery: Provides one complete meal, five days a week for 120 children Elder Care
the size of Connecticut. GuVo District has 2,547 enrolled members with 1,000 people in residence. On the U.S.-Mexico border, GuVo District is classified as a “drug corridor,” which limits food and economic access, and over 75% of the district lives below the U.S. poverty line with a yearly median income of $7,500. Residents are disconnected from health, food and educational services in Sells, the de facto capital of TON, 60 miles east of where the tribal grocery store is located. “Living in Indian Country is an isolated experience because the villages are typically very remote and removed from the public eye. There is a sense of being invisible and disconnected from the rest of the world and a feeling of being thought of as just a piece of history–if thought of at all.” Susan shares, “The Native American story is a story of survival that each one relates to in a very personal way. We have survived first and foremost by our continued acknowledgement and dependence upon our Creator, and secondly by our connection and responsibility for each other. When we were placed on reservations, our way of life was drastically changed. I think people have no idea about the complete lack of infrastructure that exists on reservations from roads to housing, internet, jobs and access to basic human needs.” In light of that, NAAF’s programming includes education, economic development, health and intergenerational cultural and language projects. They connect Tohono O’odham traditions to young generations. The After School and Summer Adventure
are NAAF’s longest running programs with 100% graduation rates. In addition to General Education Development (G.E.D.) and graduation solutions, job training, the Healthy People Coalition, Ruth’s Garden, animal care, women’s development and The Store (a nonprofit entity for food and hygiene provision) are made available. Ruth’s Garden was established in February 2020 in honor of Ruth Ortega, a beloved GuVo elder. She survived federal boarding schools and returned to advocate for O’odham language, culture and children’s education in their home geography. NAAF manages Ruth’s Garden with a dedicated team of community volunteers as a multigenerational learning site. A food desert on the reservation, GuVo District has experienced increased food insecurity during COVID-19 in terms of access and nutrition. The Tohono O’odham people suffer the highest global rates of adult and childhood diabetes. GuVo’s location in an international drug corridor precludes regular courier services and wholesale food deliveries. With COVID-19, food access is a daily challenge. Combating these issues with a vibrant desert diet built on Sonoran climate cycles and integrated irrigation and agricultural system, is a Tohono O’odham way of life. These lifeways were dramatically changed by federal and state policies which redirected water from O’odham communities all over Arizona and established a dependency on non- perishable foods. Ruth’s Garden is a NAAF and GuVo community project built on Tohono O’odham traditional health and food
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C OMM U N I T Y & C U L T U R E
C OMM U N I T Y & C U L T U R E
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