Newsletter September 2026

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More Than a Playground

This past July, some of our Family Spirit team members had the opportunity...

Dear Friends and Relatives,

As the seasons change once again, we are reminded that this is a time to show gratitude and attention for our communities, our land and our culture. It is also a time for reflection. As we reach the halfway point in the SPIRIT project, it is an important moment to reflect on how we, as a collective, have contributed to our vision of thriving Indigenous communities worldwide. Every connection we make through our work brings us closer to restoring our Indigenous ways of knowing and being.

We hope this issue serves as a reminder of our community’s progress. From watching Indigenous play spaces come to life to celebrating the Center for Indigenous Health being a beneficiary of Olivia Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain Fields Music Festival, there is so much to celebrate.

In gratitude and peace,

Many Nations, One SPIRIT

More Than a Playground

A new look for an Indigenous playspace

This past July, some of our Family Spirit team members had the honor of attending the opening of Coconino Health and Human Services’ (CHHS) Indigenous play space in Flagstaff, AZ.

It has transformed the lobby of the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) space. A mural called “A New Dawn” decorates the play area, the painting sprinkled with Diné and Hopi cultural symbols set against warm desert tones.

Local artists Duane Koyawena (Hopi-Tewa) and Chelsie Begoody (Diné) collaborated on the mural after being paired by Tamara Littlesalt-Butler, CHHS’s Healthy Families Program Manager. She wanted the new space to be representative of the region’s two prominent tribes, Hopi and Diné.

Koyawena is a self-taught artist who left his decade-long career in the mental health field to become an artist. He draws inspiration from his everyday life and hopes to inspire the next generation of Native artists.

Begoody, whose artwork at a local exhibit brought her to Littlesalt-Butler, describes herself as an emerging artist specializing in acrylics, graphic illustrations and murals.

The mural combines their different painting styles and cultures. Both artists wanted their work to be kid-friendly, and after talking it over, they decided on nature as their overarching theme. “From my perspective on Hopi culture, it represents the purity and innocence frequently associated with children,” said Koyawena.

Begoody incorporated teachings from her Diné culture. For example, a horn toad appears in the mural’s bottom left corner. “The horn toad represents cheii, or our grandfather,” she says. “Whenever we come across our cheii, we make a little offering, pick him up, put him on our heart, and just ask that he protect us on our journey.”

The play space includes a reading table in the shape of a drum and a reading tree, which the artists also decorated. Building the play space inspired countless community conversations, from idea generation to final touches.

Now, kids in the area can see cultural symbols all around them. “Right now with my five-year-old daughter, I’m struggling with how to present to her that she’s Navajo,” said Sherry Smith, a parent attending the opening. “I feel like the mural brings tradition alive. Nowadays a lot of kids don’t get exposed to it.”

Learn more about the playspace: CCHHS celebrates opening of Birth to Five Play Space

Check out the artists on Instagram: @duane_koyawena_arts @zzzrock.grl

New Faces, Shared Purpose

Welcome new members of our Global Advisory Council

We want to take a moment to welcome our newest additions to the Global Advisory Council: Dr. Donald Warne (US), Samantha Armstrong (Australia), and Ashley Jacobson (BC, Canada).

The council sits at the heart of what we are: bold, strong and proudly Indigenous. Our council members continue to be a powerful force in shaping our collective’s direction, using a mix of their research, lived experiences and community work.

Meet our Global Advisory Council members — visit our website to learn more.

Coming Together

Please join us for our biannual virtual gathering on December 3, 2026, 3-4:30pm PT (6-7:30pm ET; December 4, 12-1:30pm NZDT; December 4, 8:30–10am ACST). We look forward to playing together and connecting as a collective!

🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼 🌼 🌼 🌼

In exciting news for the Center for Indigenous Health, some of our team traveled to Irvine, CA, on August 29th to take part in pop star Olivia Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain Fields Music Festival. For those attending, it seemed like a dream come true: an all-woman lineup in support of programs that uplift women and girls around the world.

As one of the festival’s beneficiaries, we were invited to take part in Daisy Chain’s activist village – and had a role on stage when Co-Director Melissa Walls and Director of Communications Crystal Austin introduced Santigold to a crowd of 45,000 before her set.

Our prominent role marks a step forward for Indigenous communities around the world. Our Center will use the momentum to build greater awareness for our programs and Indigenous researchers. Huge thanks to Olivia Rodrigo and all of the artists who gathered at Irvine in support of our mission!

View our Center’s Instagram page for photos of the event.

Explore Our Work

Everything about our website was created with intention, built on the foundations of universal Indigenous ways of being. It serves as a shared home for SPIRIT and our partner organizations, bringing our work together so the strength of our global collective can be seen and understood. It houses and celebrates our vision, values and direction, offering a clear window into the movement and inspiring like-minded Indigenous communities worldwide.