萝莉网

FOCUS: COMMUNITY RELATIONS

Ten years ago, as the first-year superintendent of Creighton School District in Phoenix, Ariz., one of us (Lewis) became acquainted with each of the nine schools and their special community characteristics. One school was the proud Papago Elementary School, which had educated generations of families.

Surrounded by an historic neighborhood, the school was a source of abundant pride. School staff and the community loved the name Papago, including elders who identified as Papago for generations. In parts of Arizona, however, the name Papago had a derogatory connotation, which prompted the superintendent to ask the principal and governing board members whether the name had been an issue or concern in the past. None had any recollections of such.

Upon researching the name, we learned the Tohono O鈥檕dham people were referred to as 鈥淧apago鈥� by the Spanish Conquistadors in the 1600s and the term translated as 鈥渂ean eater.鈥� In some regions of Arizona, the Papagos name was shortened to 鈥渂eaners.鈥� The tribe rejected the Papago name in 1986, adopting the name Tohono O鈥檕dham (meaning 鈥淒esert People鈥�), which aligned with their ancestral identity.