Tucson Treasures (Part 4) and Time with Family

Greetings blog friends!  I have been taking a little break from the blog and enjoying the weekend in the Palm Springs area.  Two of my sisters (Dana and Betsy) and their husbands were in town so we had several opportunities to meet up.  The first was at a dinner hosted by our cousin Marc at his lovely home in Palm Springs.  We were able to meet Marc's new husband, Rick, see our cousins Mag and Kate and tour Marc and Rick's home for a Sunday family reunion.

Later in the week, Mike and I went on a tour of renewable energy (wind, natural gas, solar) with brothers in law, Dan and Mike and then visited the Living Desert with everyone.  It was really nice to connect with my family on this long trip.

Dan, Mike and Mike on tour.

At the peak of the blade to the ground,
the mill is over 300 feet in height.

Solar and wind energy are often paired on the energy farms.

                                     

Living Desert Day!
Betsy, Drew, Dana in the front.
Mike and Mike in the back.  Dan is behind the camera!

This will be my last post about the Tucson leg of my journey for now.  Two more things I wish to share that I will treasure are our visit to the Arizona State Museum and my visit with Professor Andrea Romero.

The Arizona State Museum is right on the campus of the University of Arizona. I have shown its picture in a previous post.  The building originally housed the library.  Now it houses several amazing exhibits.  We enjoyed a personal tour of the Paths of Life: American Indians of the Southwest.  Our docent was the retired director of Arizona Public Broadcasting and a very knowledgeable guide.  He led us through the exhibits sharing information that was part of the historical record and part from his own experiences.  I was fascinated to hear the story of the Geronimo from this broadcaster's point of view.  He was witness to an anniversary celebration of the battle between 150 Apache warriors and 5000 US troops.  After having visited Cave Creek Canyon, hearing the stories and seeing the exhibit, I have a much greater and more informed picture of Geronimo and his people.  I also see the story as just one more really fine example of the Doctrine of Discovery and Euroamerican colonialism at its "best."  Our guide recommended that we visit the pottery lab at the museum.  The lab was new since my last visit and it is a gem.   I was surprised and pleased to see modern and traditional pots on display and to get a sense of the variety of pottery, some of which I even recognized from my favorite Antiques Roadshow!  There was displays and a video of modern American Indian potters and their beautiful new forms that left me inspired.

On our last morning in Tucson,  Mike and I both had adventures.  Mike took off on one of his 30 mile rides and got lost!  Thanks to his phone, he managed to find his way back to hotel.  I went back to campus to visit the John and Doris Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences.  I could not resist taking the photo below of the inside of the elevator.  Very classy, new building!  I went to meet with Professor Andrea Romero who, like me, is on sabbatical.  She was very gracious to agree to meet with me, and we stayed an extra day over our original planned time to accommodate her schedule.  I was also delighted to see the smiling face of my new friend Jose greeting me when I got off the elevator on her floor.

Dr. Andrea Romero

Inside the elevator.

I felt like a sponge during my time with Andrea.  Her official website describes (as well as I can) her work and her publications.  What I captured from our conversation were some very sound recommendations for our work at WSU on our proposed Fortaleciendo Familias program revisions.  She spoke about the need to teach Latino youth about civic engagement and taking responsibility for advocating for the health of their communities and their families.  I could see the possible segue with what our 4-H program does with the Know Your Government program but I think she is suggesting taking KYG one step further and keeping the action on a local scale.  This makes total sense to me.  She also sees a need for risk reduction strategies for Latino youth.  She sees discrimination being a very damaging force on youth development.  She is concerned about adolescents engaging in alcohol and is writing a book that is based on ten years she has done with a SAMSHA Drug Free Communities grant in which they worked with youth as equals.    

One of her key recommendations to me was to incorporate conversations on "cultural freezing" into our program as a way for both parents and youth to explore the culture their families remember and to compare that to the culture that exists now.  Both Andrea and her student Jose emphasized the need to work with youth and their families on understanding and coping with bi-cultural stress.  I left with more resources and scholarship to use as sources for our work in Washington and more hope for the future of these vulnerable communities, even in the state where SB 1070 is law.

  I was grateful for all I had seen in Tucson and Southern Arizona.  I look forward to returning to the state to visit the Latino Resilience Enterprise group at Arizona State University at the end of March.

Thanks for reading!