Sonoran Desert Cultural Preservation Society

The Land We Are On / La Tierra En La Que Estamos

We live as semi-invited guests in Muhaḍagĭ Doʼag (South Mountain, Phoenix) of the O’otham Jeved, which the Akimel O’otham have regarded as their homeland since time immemorial. Despite the land’s annexation into New Spain, the Mexican Republic, and the United States, the Akimel O’otham have consistently asserted that this land is theirs, as recounted in their Creation Story, in which Jeved Ma:kai, Earth Doctor, made this place. Today the Akimel O’otham are part of the Four Southern Tribes of Arizona, which is a coalition comprised of the Gila River Indian Community, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, the Ak-Chin Indian Community, and the Tohono O’odham Nation.

The SDCPS, in what is now South Phoenix, Arizona, occupies land within sight of numerous Huhugam, or Ancestral O’otham, canals, farmlands and villages, which is evidence of a presence going back countless generations, long before European and Euro-American colonization. Consequently, the SDCPS acknowledges that it has a moral obligation to the Akimel O’otham, on whose land this organization continues to thrive, and to all other Indigenous peoples, from within and well beyond Arizona, currently inhabiting the Greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area. With this in mind, the SDCPS proclaims that it remains dedicated to honoring its relationship with the Akimel O’otham through its programming, exhibits, public events, publications, and community service, which it extends to all other Indigenous peoples represented in the Valley of the Sun: Piipaash, Yavapai, Yoeme, Diné, Indé, and many others. The SDCPS hereby proudly commits itself to a future of building, improving, and nurturing its relationships with the Akimel O’otham and other Indigenous communities, locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally.

Acknowledgement without action is empty, so the SDCPS encourages you to join us in supporting local, regional, and inter/national efforts to protect Indigenous rights and restore Indigenous sovereignty over Indigenous lands, including the Apache Stronghold, the Black Mesa Resistance Camp, Land Back, MMIWG2S, Native Hope, and the Water Protector Legal Collective.

Adapted from the land acknowledgment crafted by Dr. David Martínez, Ph.D (Akimel O’Odham/Hia Ced O’odham/Mexican) for the Phoenix Heard Museum

Conservar - Celebrar - Educar - Elevar

Our Mission / Nuestra Misión

The mission of the Sonoran Desert Cultural Preservation Society is to preserve, celebrate, and promote the Sonoran Desert’s ancient, historical, and contemporary cultural plurality.

La misión de la Sociedad para la Preservación Cultural del Desierto de Sonora es preservar, celebrar y promover la pluralidad cultural antigua, histórica y contemporánea del Desierto de Sonora.

Our Vision / Nuestra Visión

We envision a world where cultural pluralism is celebrated and supported throughout the Sonoran Desert.

Visionamos un mundo en el que se celebre y apoye el pluralismo cultural en todo el Desierto de Sonora.

Our Values / Nuestros Valores

Our organization is guided by and dedicated to:

Nuestra organización se guía y se dedica a:

Racial & ethnic equity / Equidad racial y étnica
Gender equity / Equidad de género
Religious & spiritual equity / Equidad religiosa y espiritual
Data justice / Justicia de datos
Cultural autonomy / Autonomía cultural
Power sharing between people of all ages and backgrounds / El reparto del poder entre personas de todas las edades y procedencias
Collectivism / El colectivismo
Elevating the voices of diverse peoples, past and present / Elevando las voces de los pueblos diversos, pasados y presentes

Our Programs / Nuestras Programas

The Arizona Tattoo Museum

Arizona's first museum dedicated to preserving the region's multicultural traditions of body art (ancient, historical, and modern) and empowering people to reclaim their ancestral tattooing traditions for embodied healing.

El primer museo de Arizona dedicado a preservar las tradiciones multiculturales (antiguas, históricas y modernas) de arte corporal de la región y a capacitar a las personas para que recuperen sus tradiciones ancestrales de tatuaje para la curación encarnada.

CAHAM: The Center for Ancestral Healing Arts and Medicines

Arizona's first multicultural center dedicated to teaching the basic healing techniques of curanderismo (the traditional medicine and ancestral healing arts of the Indigenous lands now called Mexico and Latin America) and of open-practice African, Asian, European, and Indigenous traditional medicine & ancestral healing arts. Students work with experts in traditional medicine & healing arts to find, re/connect with, and re/claim their own ancestral paths of holistic health and wellbeing.

El primer centro multicultural de Arizona dedicado a enseñar las técnicas básicas de curación del curanderismo (la medicina tradicional y las artes curativas ancestrales de las tierras indígenas que ahora se llaman México y Latinoamérica) y de la medicina tradicional y las artes curativas ancestrales africanas, asiáticas, europeas e indígenas de práctica abierta. Los estudiantes trabajan con expertos en medicina tradicional y artes curativas para encontrar, re/conectar y re/reivindicar sus propios caminos ancestrales de salud holística y bienestar.

Contact Us / Contáctanos

Physical Location Coming Soon!

Please feel free to contact us for an in-person or virtual meeting by appointment.

No dudes en ponerte en contacto con nosotros para una reunión presencial o virtual previa cita.

Sonoran Desert Cultural Preservation Society

admin@sonorandesertculture.org