Community Cultural Specialist
CurrentI am the Program Coordinator of the Tribal Practices For Wellness Grant (TPFW) at the Tucson Indian Center (TIC), which is funded by the Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). My job is to create programming that introduces effective traditional and cultural practices that relates to health and wellness for the Urban Native American population in the Tucson area. Many of our clients are registered Tribal members of the nearby tribes (Tohono O'odham, Navajo, Pascua Yaqui, Apache), but most of them live or work in the Urban area. Because of this many of them don't get the opportunity to interact with their tribe's culture & language. That is why this grant is so important. It allows TIC to provide to the Urban Native community with Native language revitalization, traditional food harvesting and teach traditional uses of the traditional foods, and has also allowed us introduced traditional arts & crafts. I am very thankful and fortunate to be in the position that I'm in. Being able to give back to my own Native American community inspires and motivates me to live a healthier life.