ZUNI, NM — The Zuni Youth Enrichment Project provided engaging, camp-style programming to 127 children ages 7-12 during its annual Wellness Week last month. The popular four-day summer program took place on June 23-26 at Ho’n A:wan Park and multiple local schools.
ZYEP’s team created Wellness Week as a way to reach even more children of its wildly popular Summer Camp season, allowing even more children to participate in enriching, camp-style activities before the official start of Summer Camp on June 30. This year, Wellness Week’s eight “mini-camp” activities included football, soccer, baseball, basketball, biking, hiking, art and Shiwi Chefs, which focuses on nutrition and cooking.
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“We had such an amazing team of leaders, from our community and organizational partners to our 20 Summer Camp counselors, ZYEP staff and interns,” said Kiara “Kiki” Zunie, ZYEP’s youth development coordinator, who co-organized Wellness Week with Rani Yamutewa, youth development leader.
Held in partnership with Zuni’s Healthy Lifestyles Program, football took place on the turf field at Ho’n A:wan Park. Each group of 13 children learned skills such as passing, ball handling and handoffs through drills with activity leader Kevin Bowannie.
“Scrimmages were fun because I caught a lot of ‘hail Marys’ thrown by a counselor,” said Taiden, 9.
“I liked the net where we threw footballs to earn points,” added Aliyah, 9. “I made three touchdowns!”
Soccer took place at Shiwi Ts’ana Elementary School. Instructor Patrick Nabozny led each group of 22 children through fun and engaging games like Mud Monster, Sharks & Minnows and a dribbling version of Red Light Green Light.
“They focused on passing and receiving, shooting with an emphasis on technique and balance, communication and teamwork,” Zunie said. “The kids also were able to name their teams for the scrimmage. One of my favorite names was Team Hello Kitty!”
The elementary school also served as the jumping-off point for Wellness Week’s hiking and biking activities. In the hiking activity, instructors Danzel Edaakie, Mikey Owaleon Sr. and ZYEP Arts Leader Kandis Quam took groups of nine children to the Great Kiva Village, Box Canyon and the springs on the north and south sides of Dowa Yalanne (Corn Mountain).
“At the springs, the kids had a chance to visit Mikey’s sheep camp, where they bottle-fed a lamb,” Zunie said.
“Box Canyon was my favorite, because there was a lot of water and plants,” said Amaiya, 7.
Led by Silver Stallion and Little Bellas, the biking activity gave groups of 20 children opportunities to ride to the top of “Z” hill, to Dowa Yalanne and on the wash trail around Blackrock. Little Bellas practiced technique and balance while Silver Stallion taught the group how to maneuver in tight spaces, climb on the edge of sidewalks and brake safely.
Zuni Middle School hosted baseball and basketball for groups of 14 and 24 children, respectively. In baseball, led by ZYEP Food Sovereignty Leader Zachary James and Youth Advisory Council member Kalil Edaakie, participants learned baseball positions, group defense, how to pitch and catch, offensive strategies and batting.
“It was fun playing and learning baseball,” said Miguel, 12. “Catching drills were my favorite with my friends.”
In basketball, led by the ZYEP physical activity team, the children learned a variety of key skills through drills and scrimmages. Jazmine, 7, said she loved being able to spend time with her friends during the activity — she also enjoyed all the games.
“My favorite game was Sharks & Minnows,” she added.
Wellness Week’s art activity took place at A:shiwi Tribal College. Instructors Kobe Natachu and Tyrell Westika led each group of 15 children in a paint-pouring activity and taught them how to make Shrinky Dinks as well as pinch pots using air-dry clay.
Ho’n A:wan Park hosted the eighth activity, Shiwi Chefs, with the ZYEP food sovereignty team teaching groups of 12 children how to make delicious traditional recipes that they could teach their families and easily replicate at home. These included sweet corn tamales, Zuni pudding, tortillas and blue corn mush.
ZYEP’s Wellness Week and Summer Camp are made possible with support from Blue Cross Blue Shield, McCune Charitable Foundation, National Recreation Foundation, New Mexico Department of Health’s Healthy Kids Healthy Communities, New Mexico Health Care Authority’s Behavioral Health Services Division, Newman’s Own Foundation, Nike, NoVo Foundation, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation, Zuni Education and Career Development Center (ZECDC) and Zuni Public School District.
ZYEP Executive Director Tahlia Natachu-Eriacho also emphasized the critical role of individual donors in sustaining these beloved programs.
“Navigating these uncertain times around funding and change has forced us to think critically about how these opportunities will continue,” she said. “We are still waiting to hear back on the status of a significant amount of federal funding. It is a challenging time, but we are deepening our commitment to be here for Zuni youth — not just today, but for generations to come.”
To make a contribution to ZYEP’s ongoing fundraising campaign to support this summer’s Wellness Week and Summer Camp programs, visit https://www.zyep.org/join-us/donate/. And, monthly donors with a recurring contribution of $10 or more will receive a 2025 Summer Camp T-shirt.
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