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This November we join millions across the United States in celebrating National Native American Heritage Month – a time to recognize and honor the incredible innovations and lasting impact of Native American individuals and communities.
Native people of the Americas changed the world with many contributions in fields such as activism, science, agriculture, and medicine. We honor the achievements of Native athletes and writers, whose talent and perseverance inspire us all and encourage the community to explore influential Native-led films and television, such as “Dark Winds” and “Reservation Dogs,” which offer powerful stories and authentic representation. As we recognize these contributions, let us continue to learn, celebrate, and uplift Indigenous voices and cultures. Join us to celebrate the Indigenous inventors, creators, and changemakers whose legacies continue to shape our lives and encourage our community to learn about the diverse Tribal Nations that exist within the United States, each with its unique traditions, languages, and stories.
Native American Connections owes its legacy in part to the visionary Native American leaders who championed culturally competent recovery programs in the face of discrimination, housing challenges, and substance use issues. During a pivotal era of Native American activism, Joseph Hayes, a recovering alcoholic, collaborated with his friends Lewis Blackwater and Jack Dewney to establish a drop-in center in Phoenix, where they conducted 12-step meetings in the community.
In 1972, their grassroots efforts evolved into Indian Rehabilitation (IR), a self-help support program specifically designed for Native American men experiencing homelessness and struggling with alcoholism. By 1978, the organization expanded its services and secured a permanent location in downtown Phoenix, becoming one of the first four agencies in Arizona to be licensed under a state behavioral health contract. This month, we honor Joseph Hayes, Lewis Blackwater, and Jack Dewney for their courage and innovation in advancing behavioral health solutions for Native communities. Their legacy continues to inspire efforts toward culturally competent recovery and support for those in need.
In 1999, Indian Rehabilitation became Native American Connections, reflecting our ongoing commitment to serving Native Americans while expanding our range of services beyond residential substance use treatment and transitional living. Social Determinants of Health greatly impact the health and well-being of Native American populations in Maricopa County, Arizona, and beyond. Urban Native and Tribal communities in Arizona face notable barriers and challenges that contribute to significant health inequality and chronic disease health disparities. We recognized that individuals and families often required additional support after completing treatment to achieve lasting stability and self-sufficiency. NAC has since developed a comprehensive service delivery model that addresses the interconnected Social Determinants of Health—such as housing stability, access to medical and behavioral health care, and substance use recovery—enabling our clients to achieve lasting wellness and self-sufficiency. By not only providing critical access to affordable housing but also offering convenient and accessible healthcare for more than 5,000 underserved individuals and families (resulting in improved overall health outcomes), NAC continues to fill critical gaps in the community and delivers outcomes that cannot be achieved through fragmented services alone.
The Phoenix Indian School Visitor Center stands on ground once marked by profound trauma and painful experiences for Indigenous children and families. Once a site where forced assimilation fractured identities and separated generations from their languages and cultures, it now thrives as a vibrant center for education, community connection, and healing. Here, we honor the voices and stories of those who endured, ensuring their experiences are never forgotten.
At the Visitor Center, we are committed to telling the authentic history of the Indian Boarding School era. We educate our community about the realities of forced assimilation and the enduring legacy of trauma carried by generations of children, parents, and entire cultures. This work is vital—not only to acknowledge a painful chapter in American history but also to foster understanding, empathy, and reconciliation.
The generational traumas experienced at places like the Phoenix Indian School are the very reasons organizations such as the Native American Connections exist today: to help heal Indigenous cultures and communities from these deep wounds and create space for important conversations that foster empathy and respect for the resilience of Native individuals and Tribal Nations. Through our programs and the stories we share, we strive to reconnect community members, restore cultural pride, and support ongoing healing and resilience.
By transforming a site of suffering into a beacon of learning and hope, the Phoenix Indian School Visitor Center serves as both a reminder of the past and a testament to the enduring strength and vitality of Indigenous peoples.
About the Phoenix Indian School Visitors Center’s Transformation:
The Phoenix Indian Industrial School, known as the Phoenix Indian School in later years, was established in 1891, operating as a boarding school for American Indian children by the Bureau of Indian Affairs up until 1990. Initially focused on forced assimilation of Native American children into mainstream American culture, it later transitioned into a traditional high school, and its history is marked by both trauma and resilience. The school served as a site of cultural suppression and, later, a place where students began to reclaim their heritage.
Located at the corner of Central Avenue and Indian School Road, much of this site was transferred to the City of Phoenix from the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1990, which the City used to create Steele Indian School Park. Since the school’s closing, the City of Phoenix has saved three historic buildings and placed them on the National Register of Historic Places. One of those historic buildings, the former grammar school building, is the building Native American Connections and Phoenix Indian Center has renovated and transformed into the Phoenix Indian School Visitor Center which offers a historical gallery, individual and group tours, educational programming and conference and event spaces to the community.
Be a part of the national movement to celebrate and uplift Indigenous culture and communities by:
Our traditions are the foundation of our organization - explore, learn, and utilize resources available for all.
Get the support you need with health, housing, and community services available at Native American Connections.
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A "chronically homeless" individual is defined to mean a homeless individual with a disability who lives either in a place not meant for human habitation, a safe haven, or in an emergency shelter or in an institutional care facility if the individual has been living in the facility for fewer than ninety (90) days and had been living in a place not meant for human habitation, a safe haven or in an emergency shelter immediately before entering the institutional care facility. In order to meet the ‘‘chronically homeless’’ definition, the individual also must have been living as described above continuously for at least twelve (12) months or on at least four (4) separate occasions in the last three (3) years, where the combined occasions total a length of time of at least twelve (12) months. Each period separating the occasions must include at least seven (7) nights of living in a situation other than a place not meant for human habitation, in an emergency shelter or in a safe haven.
Federal nondiscrimination laws define a person with a disability to include any (1) individual with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; (2) individual with a record of such impairment; or (3) individual who is regarded as having such an impairment. In general, a physical or mental impairment includes, but is not limited to, examples of conditions such as orthopedic, visual, speech and hearing impairments, cerebral palsy, autism, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), developmental disabilities, mental illness, drug addiction, and alcoholism.