As we look forward to the new year 2019, the Moccasin — a publication of the Arizona Silver Belt —  would like to take this opportunity to look back at the year 2018. Following is the first of a two-part series recapping the year that was in the Moccasin.

January:

The Tonto National Forest reached a decision to adopt a management plan for the Apache Leap Special Management Area (SMA) “to provide a set of plan components (i.e., desired conditions, standards, objectives, guidelines, and land suitability determinations) for managing and protecting the natural and cultural resources within the approximately 839-acre Apache Leap SMA located east of Superior, Ariz.”

The SMA was designated by Congress in December of 2014, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2015.

In January, the San Carlos Apache Tribe mourned the loss of its oldest member, 97-year old Sadie Stevens Kniffin. Led by the Geronimo Riders, family and friends, a motorcade of more than 70 vehicles made its way on Jan. 7 down a 15-mile stretch of Highway 70 and Indian Route 6 to St. Charles Catholic Mission in downtown San Carlos to pay tribute.

Born June 22, 1920 in the Bloody Tanks area of Miami, Kniffin was the seventh child of 10 born to William Stevens and Emma Casa Stevens.

The San Carlos school district leapt into the 21st century with four zSpace 3-D, virtual reality labs established at the primary school, the intermediate school, the secondary school, and in the secondary school library. Using the software, students can grab the image of a heart, for instance, and draw it from the flat screen so that it apparently floats to be manipulated and turned around in space.

February:

The fourth annual march to save Oak Flat kicked off on Feb. 15 and continued until Feb. 18 starting at Basha’s in Peridot and beginning each day with Sacred Runs and Blessings. The march was roughly 40 miles with hills and canyons along the way and ended at Oak Flat with guest speakers and special ceremonies.

March:

Five sophomore students at San Carlos Secondary School were inducted into National Honor Society: Jaylynn Ailak, Ashlee Bendle, Noelia Ferreira, Jaden Harney and Steve Harvey. To be eligible for membership, students must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or 85 percent and meet high standards of service, leadership, and character. NHS is the nation’s oldest and best-known student recognition program and was founded in 1921 by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. An induction ceremony later that month included a dinner of chicken, rice and vegetables and entertainment by seven classical guitarists from Anthony Gatewood’s guitar class.

The San Carlos Suicide Prevention Task Force continued its meetings the first Wednesday of each month from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Peridot Wellness Center Conference Room (located at San Carlos Healthcare Facility’s Behavioral Health Building). The task force has met since 2009 and is the only suicide task force in Gila County. The San Carlos Life is Precious Program released results for the month of January that included 18 blue forms for adults, 42 for children, 25 of which were for suicide ideation, 15 were for suicide attempts, 17 were for self-injuries and two were completions.

Help is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the following organizations:

Peridot Wellness Center 928-475-1510 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Crisis Hotline 1-866-495-6735 (24 hrs) toll free

Tribal Warm Line 1-855-728-8630 (24 hrs) toll free

San Carlos Wellness Center 928-475-4875 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Bylas Wellness Center 928-475-3450

On March 17, a representative of the Apache Stronghold — a group devoted to saving Oak Flat — arrived at Oak Flat and found that the four crosses of an Apache holy ground had been intentionally destroyed. Two of the crosses were ripped from the ground and missing, and two were left standing, but marred with what appears to be an axe. On Feb. 8, 2014, hundreds of people gathered at the Oak Flat Campground to hold a gathering in protest of a proposed copper mine that would decimate the area an hour east of Phoenix. Chi’Chil’Ba’Goteel has been a sacred site for Apache people from time immemorial.

Damage done to crosses at Oak Flat. Moccasin archives. 

The San Carlos Boys and Girls Club members began using the Gilson Wash Activity Center temporarily since their original building was condemned. According to Serena Tewawina, a club instructor, on a typical weekday, more than 80 kids will use the basketball court, doing arts and crafts. The Activity center also hosts GED classes through the TANF program, classes that include the Apache Language and culture as well as English, math and other general education subjects.

More than 60 parents, fellow teachers and old friends joined in celebration the life of Donna Montoya on March 19 at Rice Elementary School. She was born in Superior on Nov. 15, 1962 and died on March 3, 2018. Montoya drove over the mountains from Superior every school day for more than 30 years to teach Apache children.

April:

Senator Jamescita Peshlakai released a statement after her bill SB1235 was signed by Governor Ducey, establishing June 2 as Native American Day and an official Arizona state unpaid holiday. Arizona will celebrate the inaugural Native American Day on June 2, 2019.

“It is an immense honor to have my bill passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor, creating an official state holiday that honors Arizona’s 22 sovereign tribal nations and their members,” said Senator Peshlakai. “The native peoples of Arizona are an integral part of Arizona’s history, its culture and its future. I look forward to the inaugural celebration of Arizona’s Native American Day next year and thank my colleagues and the governor for their support in making this happen. Ahe’hee’.”

Professor Kathy Wesley-Kitcheyan is leading San Carlos Apache College’s historic role and work of preserving and revitalizing the Apache language, history, and culture. The new courses she is developing center on intensive reading and writing in Apache, on Apache history for the time period of 1800 to 1934 (when the Indian Reorganization Act was enacted), on the history of the San Carlos Apache tribal government from 1934 to the present, and on contemporary issues of the San Carlos Apache Tribe. Wesley-Kitcheyan served as a teacher and principal of San Carlos High School and as the Director of Health Manpower Development Program, and Executive Director of Department of Health and Human Services for the Apache Tribe.

Professor Kathy Wesley-Kitcheyan began teaching at San Carlos Apache College’s to help preserve and revitalize the Apache language, history and culture. Moccasin archives.

The San Carlos Apache Culture Center Museum opened in April. Marlowe Cassadore is the director of the museum and is in the process of expanding the Culture Center and also looking at the location of the Museum. Cassadore was born and raised in the Peridot area and comes from a family rich in Apache culture and tradition.

May:

Rev. Allen Early, 77, Peridot, Arizona passed away May 1, 2018 at Villa Hospice in Mesa, Arizona. He was born June 9, 1940 in San Carlos to Joseph Early and Cora Steele.

Rev. Allen was a former Vice Chairman of San Carlos Apache Tribe. During his tenure, he was invited by President Jimmy Carter to speak at the Presidential Prayer Breakfast, he spoke at House of Representative and U.S. Senate, and appeared in a television series called “Unsolved Mysteries” and Geronimo, and American Legend; a life story of Rev. Early called “Apache Fire” by Ken Anderson.

Apache Nde Nnee Working Group visits the Vatican, including Michael Paul Hill, who visited Pope Francis two times at The Vatican in Rome.

The 2018 San Carlos High School graduation was tinged with sadness after death of classmate Ariana Smith, a member of the class of 2018 who had died violently the Friday before.

After the posting of the flags by the San Carlos Veterans, Tristan Sneezy and Dion Waterman loosed two bunches of balloons in honor of her. “Fly with the Angels,” said Carol Steele-Slim, her principal at the alternative school, to the tears of many of the class of 2018.

The 2018 San Carlos High School graduation was tinged with sadness after death of classmate Ariana Smith. Tristan Sneezy and Dion Waterman loosed two bunches of balloons in honor of her. Moccasin archives.

June:

The Indigenous Peoples Caucus sent letters condemning the separation of immigrant parents and children to the following elected officials: President Donald J. Trump, Governor Doug Ducey, Speaker Paul Ryan, and U.S. Representatives Martha McSally and Raúl Grijalva.

At a press conference on Thursday, June 21, members of the Arizona Legislative Indigenous Peoples Caucus and tribal leaders called on state and federal policymakers to stop the practice of the Trump administration’s inhumane “zero tolerance” policy.

The UA chapter of Engineers Without Borders and Vicky Karanikola — research professor in the UA Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering and postdoctoral research fellow at Yale University — worked to revitalize 80 acres of reservation land and help provide clean water to a community with high levels of arsenic, a known carcinogen, and frequent reports of E. coli contamination in its water supply.

“That’s a big concern,” said Madchien Thompson, secretary of Arizona’s Nalwoodi Denzhone Community, or NDC. “There’s a lot of cancer in the community.”

When Thompson turns on a faucet in her home on the San Carlos Apache Reservation, the water sometimes comes out purple.