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Since 2016, the San Carlos Unified School District has focused on improving student outcomes with the concept of Shiłgozhóó, and an approach to education that addresses the needs of students beyond the classroom.
Shiłgozhóo, meaning “I am balanced. I am in harmony, I am at peace, I am happy,” is part of a systematic reform instituted by SCUSD Superintendent Dr. Deborah Dennison that takes all aspects of a student’s life into account and promotes cultural awareness as a guiding principle to improve educational outcomes.
To celebrate the success of its mission, the District will host its fifth Our Journey Toward Shiłgozhóó Conference on April 23-24, offering activities, presentations of San Carlos Apache history and culture, as well as access to resources for students and their families.
“The conference focuses on trauma and different types of adversities the community experiences, with a focus on overcoming these personal traumas,” says SCUSD Cultural Support Coordinator Randy Begay. “It will include discussions about how cultural practices and cultural knowledge helps in this area.”
In addition to local organizations such as the San Carlos Apache Veterans and the San Carlos Tribal Cultural Center, there will be guest speakers from national organizations dedicated to improving the school systems of Native tribes.
The keynote speaker on the first day will be Dr. Mark Standing Eagle Baez, a member of the Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation and a descendant of the Mohawk and Pawnee people. Baez, a professor from Bemidji State University in Minnesota, is a licensed school psychologist and chemical dependency counselor, who “has incorporated culturally responsive methods into his services for over two decades.”
Day two will feature Albert Pooley, president and founder of the Native American Fatherhood and Families Association (NAFFA), an internationally recognized Non-Governmental Organization based in Mesa. NAFFA provides guidance on several programs, including the Fatherhood is Sacred/Motherhood is Sacred Program that “defines the purpose of life, brings understanding of the sacredness of the role of a mother and father and explains the importance of how valuable our native heritage is to our people.”
“We’re looking for cultural speakers who have gone through the trauma process, who are able to help our parents, community and our students understand the trauma and how to overcome that, and how we can use that to better our lives,” says Lead Parent Supervisor Cheryl Haozous. “All of our speakers deal with some sort of cultural aspect that will help enhance the cultural necessity that these children need to function as San Carlos Apache.”
Haozous, who began her career at the SCUSD as Communications Director in 2014, has been leading the successful Parent Educator Program, designed to benefit students and their parents by offering resources to families that may face daunting challenges in everyday life.
“We have generations of trauma that we carry, and even a scent can trigger your body,” Haozous says. “Yet it may not be your trauma: It may be your grandparents’ trauma. It may be your great-grandparents’ trauma, and that scent is going to send you into a trauma-induced reality which you have no knowledge of.”
Haozous adds that teaching young San Carlos Apache Tribe members about their ancestors can help give them an understanding of the complexities of their relationships among the estimated 25 different clans that make up the San Carlos Tribe as well as the Tribe’s difficult relationship with the world outside the Reservation.
To that end, there will be several presentations from local Tribe members who maintain San Carlos Apache history and lore.
Ken Duncan, a world-renowned Apache historian from Peridot and founder of Yellow Bird Productions, will tell stories about how he learned the medicine way and how to hang on to that culture.
Bob Stevens, Field Supervisor for the San Carlos Apache Language Preservation Program, will share stories about the Tribe’s past and the importance of its culture and Marlowe Cassadore, from the San Carlos Tribal Cultural Center, will talk about how San Carlos Apaches communicated and worked together before they were moved to the reservations.
Steven Pahe, Jr. the Native Community Project Director from the San Carlos Apache Tribe Wellness Center will talk about San Carlos Apache history, trauma and its impact on the San Carlos people.
“We try to keep all the messages consistent,” Begay says. “This year, because of the place we’re going to be holding the event, we will probably see more interactive activities.”
The conference will take place at the San Carlos Middle School gym, located at 100 San Carlos Ave., in San Carlos.
The two-day event is open to the public and will begin on Wednesday, April 23 at 7:30 a.m. with registration and breakfast. The San Carlos High School singing and drumming group will perform in the morning followed by a blessing of the conference, a prayer, posting of colors by the San Carlos Apache veterans, the national anthem, and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Dr. Dennison will begin with a welcome address at 8:15, followed by opening remarks by Sherrie Harris, SCUSD Board President.
Wednesday’s slate of programming is scheduled to finish at 4 p.m. and Thursday’s schedule will go from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. as well.
For more details or to sign up for the conference, go to the District’s website at www.scbraves.net, or call 928-475-2315.
Dr. Dennison, who will retire at the end of the school year, has spent her career shaping tribal education from a Native perspective and with a deep understanding of the difficulties Native tribes have had adapting to a system the does not always prioritize the needs of Native peoples.
“The process of learning and then teaching is in itself an example of Shiłgozhóó, as it connects Western academia to understanding the Apache people and what they believe is important for students to know and be able to do as they grow up,” Dennison says. “In formal education, tribal leaders, parents, and communities have seldom been asked that question. Rather, education for most Native tribes has been forced and used in a manner that historically hurt far too many.”
Journalist, writer and editor who has worked for community newspapers for more than 15 years. After four years at Davis-Monthan AFB and a few years living in Tucson, moved to California to find his fortune. He is happy to be back in Arizona, in the mountains he loves.
