 |
| Liz would like to see businesses flourish for her community. |
Liz would like to see businesses flourish for her community.
She is the Chapter Coordinator for Cornfields’ Chapter of the Navajo Nation. Cornfields is located about 4.5 hours northeast of Phoenix, and according to the chapter's website, is one of 110 recognized chapters of the Navajo Nation.
Located in the southeastern portion of the Navajo Reservation, it has a population estimated at 1,600. The original Navajo name of the chapter was K’iiltsoiitah, meaning “among the rabbit brush.” In the 40s, it was renamed to Cornfields due to crops growing in the area — although there is not much growing now.
Liz shared that the majority of Cornfields’ Elders were not able to attend because of the lack of transportation. Many of their adult children live in more populated areas and cannot provide their transportation to and from the center.
She revealed as well that the development projects the chapter’s staff had planned four years ago were near completion and electricity was increasingly available to more rural homes. Another major task on the plate of the community was water access to rural dwellings.
 |
| Liz showed off the chapter’s Laundromat. |
This was a big task, but the community had a plan and had accomplished many of the milestones they had laid out for themselves. Case in point, Liz showed off the chapter’s Laundromat which offers free Wi-Fi while members wash their clothes! The chapter also had a cell phone tower completed in 2009, which allowed connectivity to rural residents.
Cornfields was one of the 23 Program Partners on six Southwest reservations to receive Thanksgiving meals through the Southwest Indian Relief Council (SWIRC) Program’s Thanksgiving service. The service provided food for Program Partners wishing to prepare and bring community members together for a holiday meal.
We were honored to travel the 250 miles northeast from the Phoenix distribution center to attend the special Thanksgiving meal. The opportunity to visit with a couple of the Elders “among the rabbit brush” made our own holidays even more special.
Thank you for making this service possible!
