HIS faculty and staff work to help Native American students find healing from centuries of inhumane practices on Indigenous peoples by reconnecting them with their cultural heritage not only during the month of November but throughout the year.

How does HIS attempt to facilitate healing in Native American Identity? Through intentional focus on the following pillars.

For one week, the elementary students at Holbrook Indian School (HIS) experienced learning beyond classrooms and books. From September 29 to October 6, our elementary students participated in STEM activities, archery, exploring animals, and doing what they do best--playing. This annual week-long excursion is known as Elementary Experience.

This school year, the agriculture program at Holbrook Indian School (HIS) begins to move beyond the “classroom” towards real-world experience. HIS started participating in the local Flagstaff Farmers Market with agriculture director, Daniel Nicholls, introducing the school’s produce and students into new territory.

More Than Riding a Horse

The Equestrian Facilitated Learning Program (Horsemanship Program) goes beyond learning how to ride. Working with horses fosters social and emotional healing and growth.

Summer Program Returns Strong

Eleven students returned to campus on June 7 to spend six weeks at our summer program, which continues until July 16. This was after a hiatus last summer due to COVID-19.

This year’s program brings some new elements, making the experience more like a summer camp than previous years.

Episode 6: MAPS Feature - Spiritual Growth at HIS

We have been looking at MAPS, an acronym for the four pillars of our educational program here at Holbrook Indian School.
These four pillars are:

Mental,

Academic/Artistic,

Physical,

Spiritual.

In this edition of HIS Nation, we are looking at the final pillar in our program, the spiritual.

We have many things that we do at HIS that contribute to the spiritual growth of our students. In this edition, we have an article that concentrates on our spiritually-focused activities, as well as a video interview that provides background on the challenge in this area.

We really encourage you to watch the video interview to gain more details on the unique challenge of Native American-Chrisitan relations that is steeped in history.

We also resume our Reflection Section to share moments in our school’s past in honor of our 75th anniversary.

Episode 4: Going to college- Shawnewa

Shawnewa is a Navajo and Hopi native about to begin her Freshman year in college at the University of Central Florida (UCF) in the Spring. She graduated from Holbrook Indian School (HIS) as a part of the Class of 2020.

For the past few months, she has been living in Orlando, Florida, with Senior Project Designer (KTH Architects) and HIS partner, Elena Pathak, while preparing for her undergraduate studies.

In conclusion to our focus on Academics at HIS, join us as we catch up with Elena and Shawnewa in a video call and get a glimpse into at least one student’s life after HIS.

Also, journey back in time with us in our reflection section as we take a look back at our academic programs during the ’80s.