PROGRAM DETAILS

Ṣu:dagī ‘O Wuḍ Doakag means ‘Water is Life’ in the language of the Tohono O’odham (TO), a desert Indigenous community located along what is today known as the US/Mexico border. At a recent Climate Change Forum, TO youth discussed their endangered water resources, voicing a desire to preserve rainwater and groundwater, and to connect more deeply with their himdag or ‘Way of Life.’ 

Baboquivari High School and Borderlands Restoration Network collaborated to pilot an after-school program that hired BHS students to work alongside conservation professionals, designing and installing a rainwater-harvesting native plant and heritage food garden on campus. This program, called Ṣu:dagī ‘O Wuḍ Doakag, was designed for TO youth to earn valuable skills, training, and work experience. 

Now Hiring for Ṣu:dagī ‘O Wuḍ​ Doakag ​2021/2022


We are ​now accepting applications to fill ten internship positions for the Ṣu:dagī ‘O Wuḍ Doakag (Water is Life) after-school program. This class will teach and encourage young Tohono O’odham youth to become more connected with their environment and become land stewards within their community through hybrid virtual learning and in-person hands on work.
 
Students will be introduced to permaculture and the ways the O’odham traditionally viewed their relationship with the Sonoran Desert. Students will continue managing the Ju:ki Oidag project that was started in 2019 that created a rainwater-harvesting native plant and heritage food garden on campus, and will plan and implement a new project on BHS campus. 
 
Positions are open to BHS students ages 15 -18. Interns will meet both online via Google Classroom and in-person following strict COVID-19 safety protocols with optional field trips about two Saturday's a month at 8AM with transportation  provided by Baboquivari High School. The program takes place October 26, 2021 through May 12, 2022 with in-person meetings beginning November 23.
 
To apply please fill out the application and return to Damien Carlos, dcarlos@busd40.org, by 5pm on Friday, October 15th.

Short interviews will be scheduled October 18-19 with Program Facilitators, Damien Carlos and Pachynne Ignacio, both Tohono O’odham Community College students.

​Offers for internships will be made by Friday, October 22, 2021.

PROGRAM HISTORY

BHS is located near Sells, AZ, the modern-day capital of the TO Nation along what today is recognized as the US/Mexico border. This large reservation, equal in land area to the state of Connecticut, is in the heart of the Sonoran Desert and receives less than 10” of rain per year.

While the TO have lived on these arid lands for many generations, the reservation's groundwater resources face increasing encroachment from Tucson’s urban sprawl and for concrete footers of the new border wall, endangering himdag  for the people who have lived here long before Tucson was founded.

​In 2018, Desert Diamond Casino and The North Face funded a one-year pilot program designed and coordinated by BHS and BRN staff. One student from the TOCC was hired to facilitate the paid after-school program, leading daily activities. Thirteen BHS students were then hired as interns working alongside conservation professionals, designing and installing a rainwater-harvesting native plant and heritage food garden on campus. 
The program concluded at the end of the school year with a community graduation ceremony, where youth first led guided tours of Ju:ki Oidag to visitors, shared a meal with the community, and received graduation certificates, In April 2019, the Ṣu:dagī ‘O Wuḍ Doakag program was presented the annual Stewardship Award by the Tohono O’odham Environmental Protection Office at the Tohono O’odham Nation’s Earth Day Festival.  In 2020, the program adapted to a virtual format during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Thank you partners & supporters!


​The Future 

The Ṣu:dagī ‘O Wuḍ Doakag program relies on the generous support of donors, grants from foundations, and sponsorships to continue the program. Stay tuned for further details as we roll out plans for 2021! 

                                            Contact us with questions about this program or make a donation today!