“Hon Ulohnan Yaknaba” – We Hold The World
Earth Day Celebration
Tuesday April 22nd 2025
Dialogue on Climate Resilience
Location: Major Market Inc. Zuni, NM 87327
Time: 11am – 6pm
Read the full report about Earth Day 2024
Elahkwa!
Our Earth Day event, ‘Hon Ulohnan Yaknaba – We Hold the Earth,’ is a collaborative effort between Major Market Inc. (MMI), First Nations Development Institute, the Zuni Youth Enrichment Project, Hawikku, and many others. Together, our goal is to honor Zuni’s rich ecological heritage and create space for meaningful conversations about making our community more resilient to climate change. Our event promises engaging activities, good food, music, dance, inspiring speakers and much more. We want every attendee to walk away with a better sense of how Zuni’s ecological values and clean technologies can work together to heal and protect our Mother Earth.
2024’s Schedule of Events
| Zuni Earth Day Event Themed: Hon Ulohnan Yaknaba – We Hold the World Hosted by: Zuni Youth Enrichment Project, Hawikku non-profit, Major Market, Inc. Location: Major Market, Inc., 1254 NM-53, Zuni, NM 87327 | |
| 10:45 AM | Posting of Colors, Zuni Teddy Weahkee American Legion Post #98 |
| Opening Prayer, Octavius Seowtewa, Zuni Cultural Resource Advisory Team | |
| 11:00 AM | Opening Remarks |
| Welcome, Shaun Tsabetsaye, Major Market (MC & Moderator) | |
| US Congressional Representative Gabriel Vasquez | |
| Derrick Toledo, Field Staffer for US Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez | |
| Zuni Tribal Leadership | |
| Dr. Hayes Lewis, A:shiwi College & Career Readiness Center | |
| Jackie Franke, First Nations Development Institute | |
| Calvin Chimoni, Hawikku Non-profit | |
| Tahlia Natachu-Eriacho, Zuni Youth Enrichment Project | |
| 12:30 PM | Lunch |
| 1:00 PM | Shelley Morningsong & Fabian Fontenelle, Contemporary Song & Dance |
| 1:30 PM | Round Table Booth Introductions |
| 2:00 PM | Open-Mic for Community Input |
| 3:00 PM | Summary of Zuni Earth Day’s Discussion |
| 3:30 PM | Earth Day Scavenger Hunt |
| 4:00 PM | Shiwi Ts’ana Elementary Dance Group |
| 6:00 PM | Adjourn for the Day |
KSHI broadcast live 11am – 4pm
We’re inspired by recent milestones, like the installation of a solar carport and electrical charging stations at MMI, a tangible example of sustainability in practice. We’re also excited to announce the recent formation of Hawikku, a Zuni-based non-profit with a mission to harness the power of tradition, entrepreneurship, science, and technology to improve quality of life for the Zuni people and strengthen our cultural ways of life. The establishment of Hawikku marks another important step in helping us organize local efforts and resources to foster greater climate resilience for our community.
We are excited for you to join us in celebrating the ecological values that have sustained our people in the desert southwest for generations, while we engage in vital conversations about the state of our resources in the era of climate change. Together, let’s learn from one another and sow the seeds for a better tomorrow.
RSVP
Be a part of honoring the Mother Earth with song, dance, food, and learning about solar, earth building, traditional ways
Special Guests included:
Octavius Seowtewa, a member of Zuni Pueblo is a cultural advisor who plays a crucial role in Zuni site protection and preservation projects. As a leader of the Zuni Cultural Resources Advisory Team, Octavius surveys traditional cultural properties and provides consultation on their treatment, as well as on matters related to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Octavius is head of a traditional medicine group and he has most recently served as a religious advisor for the Bears Ears National Monument Inter-Tribal Coalition. He is also a master jeweler, specializing in needlepoint jewelry.
Dr. Hayes Lewis, a member of the Zuni Pueblo tribe, has committed his life to advancing indigenous education and community empowerment. Grounded in ancestral teachings, his dedication to uplifting his people through education has been exemplary. He has served as the founding Director of the Center for Lifelong Education at the Institute of American Indian Arts, Superintendent of Schools for the Zuni Public School District, and led the efforts in the accreditation of the A:shiwi College and Career Readiness Center at Zuni Pueblo. Dr. Lewis’s visionary leadership continues to have a lasting impact on the Zuni community and beyond
Congressman Gabe Vasquez is a first-generation Mexican-American who served as a City Councilor in Las Cruces. Congressman Vasquez grew up in the borderlands and saw the value of hard work in his family while growing up. As the first in his family to be born in the United States, he’s made the most of his opportunity and has worked hard to make a positive difference in his community and in the lives of others. Congressman Vasquez is a champion for working families, he believes we need to build an economy that benefits everyone.
Jackie Francke is a member of the Navajo Nation and is Vice President of Programs and Administration at First Nations Development Institute. Prior to joining First Nations, Jackie spent 11 years as president of Geotechnika, Inc., which provided products and consultancy in the areas of geo-environmental monitoring, energy efficiency, and renewable energy development to large federal agencies, tribal organizations, corporate entities, and nonprofit organizations.
Tahlia Natachu-Eriacho, a member of the Zuni Tribe and Executive Director of the Zuni Youth Enrichment Project, is committed to her organization’s mission to promote resilience among Zuni youth so they will grow into strong and healthy adults that are connected with Zuni traditions. Tahlia feels a deep sense of responsibility to continue the ZYEP tradition of providing high quality activities and caring mentors to Zuni’s current and future generations of youth.
Derrick Toledo grew up in Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico and graduated from the University of New Mexico in Multimedia Journalism and Marketing Management. He was formally appointed as a tribal official but now serves as a field representative for New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández where many of his responsibilities are to work very closely alongside indigenous communities. Additional issues also included in his portfolio are natural resources, energy, education, healthcare and law enforcement. He will be receiving his master’s degree in Political Psychology soon from Arizona State University.
Earth Day Organizers:
Festival and Parking Map
