Indigenous Commission names event leads, signs up for sculpture panel and moves June meeting

At the May 14 meeting, the Indigenous Commission accepted volunteers for several upcoming programs and adjusted its calendar.

Commissioner Washburn volunteered to represent the commission on a Multicultural County Park Sculpture Exhibition selection panel scheduled for August. Commissioners also named working-group members for two fall events: a Code Talkers celebration (planning group: Commissioners Zavala, Curley and Hoskie) and Indigenous Peoples' Day (planning group: Lance, Zavala, Francis, Curley). The commission agreed to schedule the Code Talkers event for the week of Aug. 10, with a planning meeting to be set by staff.

Commissioners discussed ideas for Indigenous Peoples' Day programming—suggestions included partnerships with a local book club for youth reading programs, featuring Indigenous chefs and cultural demonstrations, and cross-promotion with local Indigenous organizations. Commissioner Cheryl Lee Francis described outreach ideas from the Flagstaff Book Fair and suggested inviting local authors or chefs to participate.

On scheduling, commissioners voted (hand-raise) to move the June 4 meeting to June 11 at 11:00 a.m. to allow an in-person farewell for a departing commissioner; staff was directed to post the updated meeting notice. Commissioners also discussed holding a summer retreat and tentatively identified late July or Aug. 20 as possible weekday dates to keep the retreat open to the public.

Next steps: staff will post the June 11 meeting notice, convene planning-group meetings for the August Code Talkers event and the Indigenous Peoples' Day activities, and circulate details for a tentative summer retreat.