Coverage of tribal natural resources is supported in part by Catena Foundation
On Saturday, Arizona’s humanities council is once again teaming up with an Indigenous nonprofit to organize an all-day celebration of a unique staple from the Southwest. Blue corn is not only nutritious, it’s also synonymous with traditional ceremonies across this arid land.
Amber McCrary, who is Diné and the programs manager with AZ Humanities, says that’s why for the second year running, a festival named after this desert crop is taking root in downtown Phoenix.
“Blue corn, it’s always been there in my life,” said McCrary, “and I would just like to see it kind of become this bigger thing that we all will celebrate together.”
This time around, the festival is tied to funding from a Smithsonian initiative where each state is responsible for hosting a single folklife event this year, in honor of the country’s 250th anniversary.
It’s called “By the People: Conversations Beyond 250” — a collaboration between the Federation of State Humanities Councils and Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.
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The budget for AZ Humanities got slashed by more than $1 million last April when the now defunct Department of Government Efficiency — DOGE — made federal cuts to the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Organizers weren’t sure whether the Blue Corn Festival would return.
“Even before the founding of this country — blue corn — our Indigenous foodways were shared and celebrated,” said Diné co-organizer Kinsale Drake, founder of the NDN Girls Book Club. “But they are here, right? And they have survived, and we’ve protected these foodways.”
From eating blue corn donuts to reading poetry, organizers look to have fun and foster new conversations about food sovereignty and cultural identity through food, art and storytelling – even down to the wardrobe.
“Last year, we had a really big turnout, but we’ve just been getting a lot of buzz so we’re really excited to see how many people show up,” added Drake. “If you are coming to the festival, wear your best blue. We have a dress code.”
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Highschoolers across six BIE-run schools in South Dakota, Oklahoma, Montana and New Mexico are already participating, including Northwest High School in Shiprock on the Navajo Nation.
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For 16 years, visitors could sleep in a suite inside a giant cave near the Grand Canyon. Now, it’s being dismantled.
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The Bureau of Land Management oversees more than 12 million acres within Arizona alone. And much like the rest of the West, it’s filled with public lands making up federally protected national monuments that hold unique value for tribes.
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It’s known by the name Velvet-Wood, and the project’s Canadian owner got the go-ahead back in May as the first to undergo an “accelerated,” two-week environmental review, during which tribes had only seven days to reply.
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The BIA, which is responsible for overseeing trust responsibilities with 575 federally recognized tribes, focused on reducing its own workforce through mass layoffs and hiring freezes within the Interior Department – much like agencies elsewhere.
