Saturday, February 4, 2023
9 am: Light breakfast served
9:30 – 10:30 am: Program, presentation, and Q&A
Micheon will join us via Zoom in King Hall.
This is a free event, open to the public.
Breakfast reservations: Sign up on clipboard in narthex or call 623-977-8359.
Participate via Zoom by going to the Bridges page of our website and clicking on the name of this event.
The Phoenix Indian Center just celebrated its 75th anniversary of services founded in 1947 for Indigenous urban citizens of Maricopa County. The need for these services were dire following the outgrowth of Native people moving to urban Phoenix not only to sell their crafts and goods but as a result of U.S. Government public policy. See more at phxindcenter.org.
The Federal Government’s Indian Relocation Act (PL 959) created a mass migration of American Indians from rural, reservation settings to large scale cities across the United States during the 1950-1960s. The Act was an attempt to assimilate American Indians into the prevailing non-Indian city life culture and remove their practice of Native culture and traditions through the break-up of reservation systems. See more at phxindcenter.org.
Come and learn of the myriad of programs and services for job readiness/employment, prevention (drug and alcohol ), youth development, cultural revitalization, and community engagement. The vast area of training, education, support groups, etc., is impressive for any organization. And when you consider it was started and managed by volunteers for years, it speaks to the healthy living resistance and resilience of Indigenous people. They can use volunteers in many of their programs in addition to financial support.
“But, what does this have to do with me?” Maybe it is to learn more about Indigenous people and resources available. Maybe it is to explore volunteer options with the Phoenix Indian Center. The most important and first task is to form kinship bonds. Come hear about ways we can continue to form kinships and learn about being ‘The Palms’ alongside Indigenous peoples of Arizona, right in our own backyard.