Weekend Opportunity Fair to Celebrate Indigenous Youth

The City of Albuquerque Office of Native American Affairs, First Nations Community HealthSource’s Traditional Wellness Program, Albuquerque Public School’s Office of Indian Education, and a variety of community organizations are partnering to host the Celebrating Indigenous Youth event this Saturday, May 21, 2022, from 8:30 AM – 2:00 PM. This year’s theme is “The Intelligence of Art and Play” offering Indigenous youth space to showcase their talents to the community. This collaborative effort supports cultural enrichment and wellness through a Native American approach.

Office of Native American Affairs coordinator Dawn Begay said, “We are proud to host events for the Indigenous urban youth. This is a great way for the youth to be able to showcase their talents. We use events like this to bring community resources directly to the youth along with job opportunities through the career fair.”

This family event will feature a wellness walk and cultural-based enrichment such as basket weaving, art design, pottery demonstration, lacrosse, and more. A Community Resource and Job Fair with over 40 vendors will also coincide with the event; arts and craft vendors will be at the event.

"Celebrating our Indigenous youth is important as we engage them through preserving our culture and traditions, and helping to build their motivation and confidence,” Community member Patrick Trujillo (Cochiti Pueblo/Walatowa) stated. “These values will be reinforced through the art and wellness-based activities."

The event will be held at APS Berna Facio Building located at 3315 Louisiana Blvd, NE, Albuquerque, NM. To register for this event, visit our website.