Gila Crossing North Campus location

Sticky politics: The crew arrived a little later than planned after getting lost due to starting off in the wrong direction. Well, it is a different building , the Gila Crossing North Campus location not the Gila Crossing Community school we had been to yesterday! Blame it on UK drivers trying to negotiate a maze of American highways and driving on the “wrong” side of the road. Breakfast was very sticky cakes on the library.

This was an immediate introduction to the apparently typical eating habits of a community that has the highest concentration of diabetes of any community worldwide. Of course there are many reasons their diet has become so bad, not the least of which is the fact that their river had a dam built on it in X, taking away the livelihood of the whole community. We knew a little of this before arriving and the information was supplemented by Mike, who

Gave a talk, briefly introducing us to the Gila River community and their cultural and political issues. He is a colorful character, a man of many guises: ex narcotics cop, community leader, school governor and lifelong artist.

Project beginnings: The kids were a little reserved at first, perhaps checking us out. However, Felix’s newspaper icebreaker again did it’s job. This was swiftly followed up by a mind mapping brainstorm session where we all mapped out our likes and dislikes, eventually connecting everything up to the idea of telling a story through computers, the web, photography and video. Following this the kids split into two groups: web and design, led by Felix and Gill and film, sound, photography led by Annabel and Nirit. Lucy floated between groups and continued with content for the web site with Jon.

The Kids: Aged between 13 and 16, again it’s a bright bunch of kids. They seem less aware of their cultural heritage than the Hopi group we worked with. As Mike explained, this is a community that is much more of an inner city community in nature. Despite living on the rez, they are situated in the suburbs of Phoenix, and they have been assimilated into Anglo culture much more strongly. People like Mike are working very hard to fuel a stronger sense of who they are and where they come from in this youth, yet they live in a community where drugs and gangs are very real issues.

The heat: Humidity rising as the skies become cloudy. Heavy.

Birthday toast: It was Annabel’s birthday. Kate treated us to a fine Mexican food and Margaritas. Happily, we’re slowly getting geographically closer to the true taste of Mexico. Dinner was followed by a wonder through the streets of Tempe to the Bamboo club, where we sat on a rooftop balcony to toast Annabel with a bottle of champagne. We looked out over Lego land rooftops and scattered neon lights. Somehow Felix found room for some sushi. The night time heat eventually got the better of us up there, the humidity was surely still rising, so we walked, pausing to observe some street spray can art. Pots and pans and a spray can, producing finished pieces of the solar system canvases. Last stop, an all American Hooters bar!