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Navajo dialect, WWII history, hoop dances, Aztec chocolate. . . APS employees and community members get to experience all of this and more as part of APS’ American Indian Heritage Month.
 From mid-October to mid-November, each year, APS employees volunteer to showcase their culture, sharing their food, art, dance and crafts. The APS art gallery is dedicated to American Indian art and the month’s festivities culminate with an American Indian Outdoor Market at Arizona Center.
“We’re vested in our employees’ interests,” says Joanna De’shay, community development consultant. “When they came to us and asked to put something together, we gave an enthusiastic ‘yes’ and worked with them to expand opportunities for the community to experience this with us, as well.”
One unique opportunity was a brown bag lunch with two of the Navajo “code talkers” who served during WWII, translating vital information into Navajo to keep it confidential and only among those who could understand the language. Marshall Plummer, manager, Four Corners human resources/government affairs, and former vice president of the Navajo nation, also spoke at a brown bag lunch titled, “Native Americans – Who Are We?”
In planning the month’s activities, employees have reached out to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIT) for support and guidance.
“For the past three years, the BIA western regional office, in partnership with APS, has sponsored the month of November as national American Indian Heritage Month,” says Elizabeth Coochwytewa, equal opportunity manager, BIA, western region. “This has been a part of the U.S. Department of Interior’s special emphasis observance program and is consistent with the president’s proclamation. This partnership with APS has allowed employees from both APS and BIA to celebrate the rich cultural traditions and proud ancestry of American Indians and Alaskan natives and to recognize the vital contributions to the strength and diversity of our society. We appreciate the cooperation and interest that APS has shown in advancing Native American cultures.”
APS family members get to experience the American Indian culture in a variety of ways, as well. During American Indian Heritage Month, APS also sponsors the Desert Botanical Garden’s (DBG) New World Harvest – Native American Recognition Days which celebrates American Indian culture through traditional song, dance and local artists demonstrating and selling art. APS also sponsors the DBG’s Chiles and Chocolate Festival, which showcases chocolate as it was originally discovered by the Aztecs. These events are free to employees.
Four Corners invited Farmington High School students to perform “The Three Little Pigs” in the Navajo language for employees. Afterward, the students were treated to a tour of the plant.
“The students were honored when Four Corners asked them to perform,” says Donna Irvin, Navajo language teacher. “Performing here really lifted their spirits. They knew they had to do this in Navajo and that inspired them.”
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