University of Arizona Well Represented at the 30th Indian Nations and Tribes Legislative Day at Arizona State Capitol

The 30^th Indian Nations and Tribes Legislative Day was held on January 15^th in Phoenix at the Arizona State Capitol. This event is organized annually by the Arizona Governor's Office on Tribal Relations in cooperation with representatives from the State's Tribal Nations. The milestone event this year brought together Tribal leaders, state legislators, and community members to celebrate three decades of partnership, foster dialogue, and honor the rich cultural heritage and contributions of the 22 Tribal Nations in Arizona, stated the Arizona Governor’s Office on Tribal Relations in their press release.

Senior Vice President Levi Esquerra of the University of Arizona Office of Native American Advancement and Tribal Engagement (NAATE) has been working with the Haury Program for four years now to organize and coordinate University of Arizona’s presence at this event, which is especially important as we are experiencing record enrollment and retention of Native American students. According to Tessa Dysart, Assistant Vice Provost for Native American Initiatives, the University of Arizona has currently over 2,000 Native American students from over 200 federally recognized tribes (for more information visit the NAAIR website). 

“The Governor's Office on Tribal Relations hosts an annual Indian Nations and Tribes Legislative Day during the first week of each regular legislative session. This significant event enables the 22 federally recognized Tribes in our state to gain full representation at the state Legislature, thereby reinforcing the government-to-government relationship that exists between the Tribes and the state. Witnessing Tribal Nations unite around a common mission presents a unique opportunity to engage with Tribal dignitaries, allowing us to listen and learn about their priorities for the future. The participation of the University of Arizona at this annual event is essential for ensuring that we, as a leading institution for research and learning, understand how to best serve our Tribal Communities. It also offers a valuable platform to share the various programs and initiatives available at the University,” emphasized SVP Esquerra.

“I can’t think of another opportunity to hear directly Native Nations leader’s priorities and have the opportunity to share the University of Arizona’s activities,” reflected Nancy Petersen, Haury Program’s Assistant Director. “Experiencing the conversations, I better identify how the University of Arizona can serve our sovereign Native Nations, the State of Arizona, and our Indigenous students faculty and staff and importantly, commit action to it,” she added.

Image

The Indian Nations and Tribes Legislative Day began with a lively Programs and Resources Fair on the Senate lawn, including the largest representation of the University of Arizona programs to date. Besides the representatives from NAATE and Haury Programs, visitors were able to engage with the staff representing the Native American Initiatives, the Indigenous Resilience Center from the Arizona Institute for Resilience, the Undergraduate Admissions Office, Natives Who Code Program from the RII Institute for Computation and Data-Enabled Insights, Native Nations Institute, Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities’ Circle of Indigenous Empowerment, Native Student Outreach, Access and Resiliency (Native S.O.A.R.) from the College of Education, and Pathway Scholars Program from the College of Medicine ­– Phoenix.

Image

Following the Programs and Resources Fair, a joint protocol session was held in the Arizona State Senate, where Tribal leaders were granted floor privileges alongside their state representatives. The session opened with a traditional song performed by Bird Singing and Dancing by the River, a group from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, followed by the presentation of colors by the Pascua Yaqui Veterans Post 124. Senate President Hon. Warren Petersen, and Speaker of the House Hon. Steve Montenegro delivered opening remarks. The Tribal Nations Address was delivered by Hon. Amelia Flores, Chairwoman of the Colorado River Indian Tribes; Hon. Stephen Roe Lewis, Governor of the Gila River Indian Community; and Hon. Sandra Pattea, President of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation. 

The tribal leaders emphasized the importance of state-tribal relationships as a government-to-government relationship, that provides opportunities for  collaborating and crafting solutions that work for the whole state, as Gov. Lewis stated. The number one issue for all three tribal leaders is water, water access and recognition of tribal water rights as senior water rights. President Pattea shared the history of Orme Dam and successful opposition of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation to building it while Chairwoman Flores pointed out that we are at the critical crossroads on the Colorado River, and that decisions made now will impact our grandchildren. She reminded everyone that it is important to remember that it is not just about today but also tomorrow, and that her tribe and other Native people have always protected the River and will continue to do so. She also added taking water from the Tribes is not the solution. Other crucial collaborative issues identified by Tribal leaders included education, implementation of the Indian Child Welfare Act, substance abuse problems and responsible care system, investments in renewable resources, Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, voting rights for Native people, gaming rights, the housing crisis, retention of young families, fostering economic development on the reservations as well as fair allocation of the transaction privilege tax. (See the full recording of the Tribal Nations Address here.)

Image

After the Joint Protocol session, a Community Luncheon was served at the Senate Lawn, provided by Emerson Fry Bread and Alyssa’s Kosin while Cruz Band (Tohono O’odham Nation) played music. In the afternoon, the Arizona Department of Transportation held a workshop on 50 Years of Knowledge: Sharing and Collaboration with Tribal Nations which is an important topic since approximately 1,200 miles of Arizona’s state highway system crosses Tribal lands. In addition to the day’s activities Unity National Indian Tribal Youth Inc (UNITY) hosted a workshop called “Lighting the Fire: Native Youth Navigating Advocacy in the Present and into the Future.”

Program Coordinator Martha Lee from NAI attended the Tribal Legislative Day for the first time: “I enjoyed meeting potential future Wildcats who attended the event as part of the various Native American youth councils. They were so curious and engaged! I took a photo of a seventh-grader with Wilbur Wildcat (Wilbur’s cutout) and encouraged the student to reconnect with the U of A in high school.” Nickolis Joe, who recently joined the University of Arizona to work as a Program Coordinator with both NAI and NAATE, was moved to see how many people traveled across Arizona to meet with state legislators, Tribal leaders, and community representatives to network and share resources.

Image

It was the first time attending for Myrhea Sherman, the Coordinator for Native SOAR as well: “Native S.O.A.R. appreciated the sponsorship of the table because we got to see a lot of youth we can work with in our mentorship program. We ran out of pamphlets. Thank you to our University of Arizona family who helped in many ways - it does take a village, and everyone's help made it great. The youth that I met were interested in the University of Arizona and I gave them information on the admission process. I got requests from schools that want to tour the University of Arizona and offered an email to those interested. In the UNITY session, I helped inspire some students, which was really cool. There were a ton of people!”

Image

Michelle Higgins, Associate Director from the Office of Societal Impact has attended this event for the third time: “Attending the Indian and Tribes Legislative Day is crucial for the Natives Who Code program. Not only did we get to share our work, but we were able to speak with community members and education stakeholders to better understand how this work fits in with other initiatives happening across the state. Many times, these conversations are the seeds of partnerships and collaborations.”

Image

“The Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities provided information on transition service for Native youth, caregiving and upcoming webinars from the Circle of Indigenous Empowerment in addition to the American Indian Youth Disability Summit April 12, 2025,” shared Agnes Attakai, Director of the Circle of Indigenous Empowerment. 

“The Indigenous Resilience Center (IRes) was honored to attend the 30th Annual Indian Nations and Tribes Legislative Day,” said Torran Anderson, Community Outreach Manager. “This was a great opportunity to share the work of the IRes research center and its core faculty members: Dr. Karletta Chief, Dr. Joe Hoover, Dr. Cherie De Vore, and Dr. Mike Kotutwa Johnson. It was inspiring to see the work being done with Tribes related to the nexus of food, energy, and water that IRes focuses on. IRes is grateful to be able to collaborate on this event with Haury and our colleagues at the University of Arizona.”

NAATE and the Haury Program are already planning to attend the event in 2026, and the Haury Program will again sponsor a table open to all University of Arizona programs. If you have questions and are interested in participating, please reach out to Haury Program Coordinator Nina Sajovec.