In the American Southwest, Native people remain connected to the lands that have been their homes for centuries. In Home: Native People in the Southwest, they tell of that connection, of how it has survived and changed over time, and of how they are preserving it for future generations. Native artists express multiple visions of home in their art. The stories of the people who made the art are all different and yet, as Native people, they have a shared history and land, and their stories have common themes for all people. The permanent collection of the Heard Museum is a part of these stories. In the pages of this book, inspired by the Heard Museum's major new exhibition of the same name, you will encounter many expressions of the meanings of home as they are embodied in clay, pigment, plant materials, fiber, wood, metal, and words by people whose art is indivisible from their lives and whose lives are indivisible from the landscapes in which they live them.

Ofelia Zepeda is a Native American poet who possesses a kind of double vision. She sees the contemporary world through her own highly observant eyes and, at the same time, through the eyes of her Tohono O'odham ancestors. Seeing this way infuses her poetry with a resonance and depth that makes it a delight to read--and re-read.
Zepeda is as clear-eyed about the past as she is about the present. She recalls waiting for the school bus on a cold morning inside her father's truck, listening to the sounds of the engine, the windshield wipers, and the "soft rain on the hood." She remembers celebrating Mass on the "cold dirt floor of the Winter Solstice." In the present, she sees both the frustration and the humor in a woman she observes trying to eat pancakes with one hand while her other resides in a cast: "Watching her, I realize eating pancakes is a two-handed job."
Whatever she sees, she filters through her second set of eyes, which keep the past always present. She tells of traveling to Waw Giwulig, the most sacred mountain of the Tohono O'odham, to ask for blessings--and forgiveness. She writes that one should always bring music to the mountains, "so they are generous with the summer rains." And, still, "the scent of burning wood / holds the strongest memory. / Mesquite, cedar, pinon, juniper, . . . / we catch the scent of burning wood; / we are brought home." It is a joy to see the world afresh through her eyes.

This first pedagogical grammar of the Papago language features twenty chapters on grammatical constructions and five sample dialogs?plus abbreviations, symbols, summary of grammatical elements, and two glossaries. Classroom-tested for teaching both native and non-native speakers, the text also offers linguists an overview of the Papago language not available elsewhere. (This book is now entitled A Tohono O'odham Grammar.)

When it was first released in 1982, When It Rains was one of the earliest published literary works in the O'odham language. Speakers from across generations shared poems that showcased the aesthetic of the written word and aimed to spread interest in reading and writing in O'odham. The poems capture brief moments of beauty, the loving bond between family members, and a deep appreciation of Tohono O'odham culture and traditions, as well as reverent feelings about the landscape and wildlife native to the Southwest. A motif of rain and water is woven throughout the poetry in When It Rains, tying in the collection's title to the importance of this life-giving and sustaining resource to the Tohono O'odham people. With the poems in both O'odham and English, the volume serves as an important reminder of the beauty and changeability of the O'odham language. The themes and experiences expressed by the language educators in this volume capture still-rural community life: children are still bussed for miles to school, and parents still have hours-long daily commutes to work. The Sonoran Desert also remains an important part of daily life-seasons, rain on desert plants, and sacred mountains serve as important markers. In a new foreword to the volume, Sun Tracks editor Ofelia Zepeda reflects on how meaningful this volume was when it was first published and its continued importance. ""Things have changed but many things remain the same,"" writes Zepeda. ""The pieces in this collection will be meaningful to many still.