At the Zuni Youth Enrichment Project, nothing makes us happier than when we see programs bring generations together. Sometimes, a family’s experience with ZYEP starts with just one dedicated youth program and gradually evolves into a journey that includes everyone.
Karen Poncho’s older son, Keidis, now 16 (pictured at right), participated in the youth project’s softball league years ago. It was a good way for him to get out of the house, she remembers, and she thought of that when the Covid pandemic hit and her younger son, Liam, was stuck at home.
She signed him up for Summer Camp, which continued through the pandemic with health protocols in place. Then, Liam took an interest in the Delapna:we Project, a collaborative annual effort between ZYEP and partners that brings traditional Zuni stories to life through the performing arts.
“This will be his third year,” she says. “We talk in Zuni at home, and he understands it, so he loves to read the scripts. He can do it without help, and he helps the other kids learn their lines. I like that he enjoys doing that.”
Liam, now 8 (pictured at left), also joined the soccer league during his second year of ZYEP activities. This past spring, he participated in the basketball league.
That’s not all. In fall 2022, the Poncho family signed up for Family Cook Nights, a ZYEP Food Sovereignty program that teaches participants to make healthy, plant-based recipes.
“When Liam was at Summer Camp, he said he really liked cooking, so we decided to give this a try,” Karen says. “We really enjoyed it. I thought it would be hard, but the classes made it easy. These were dishes we could make at home, and ZYEP supplied the equipment we needed, like the tortilla presses, iron skillets and mixers.
“Liam and I did the classes together, and sometimes my dad joined us,” she continues. “We all made an effort to be healthier, find new recipes and try new ingredients.”
Karen says they loved the black bean tacos, and she appreciated learning how to use fresh vegetables, spices, and other ingredients from home to create a flavorful meal like butternut squash soup. Liam is a big fan, too.
“He loves vegetables and fruit,” Karen says with a laugh. “I don’t have to hide vegetables in his meals, because he likes them.”
She observes that her family did have to change its mindset a little to embrace this new way of healthy, culturally grounded eating.
“Every family is different,” she acknowledges, “but in mine, everything had to have meat in it. Fruit and vegetables did not make a meal, and when we started this, I wondered if plant-based meals would be hard to make, or maybe they wouldn’t be good. But, really, this is how our people ate — meals with corn, squash, beans — and they weren’t sick all the time.”
Karen says she also wondered if the vegetables would be difficult to grow. So, in addition to participating in the Family Cook Nights, her family registered for a ZYEP garden kit and rain barrel this past growing season so they could learn to grow food and harvest rain water.
It proved to be quite a challenge thanks to the neighborhood goats, sheep and dogs. To deter the critters, they tried planting their basil, cilantro, corn and squash in raised boxes rather than planting them directly in the ground.
The results were mixed thanks to the curious (and hungry) local fauna, but Karen says it was a good experience anyway. Liam says he is enthusiastic about all of it.
“I like that ZYEP helps me learn more about our culture, and they are teaching me how to be stronger and healthier,” he says, adding, “I like the healthy snacks they give me!”
“He loves to talk, and to speak his mind,” Karen says affectionately. “I appreciate that ZYEP gives us a place where different people from different families can get together and do projects together. They always welcome you to come as you are, and remind you that it’s never too late to learn.”
She notes that the Zuni community gets particularly excited when the Delapna:we Project is announced in advance of the traditional winter storytelling season. Everyone, she says, looks forward to that.
Going into 2024, Karen says her goal is to keep Liam busy. He has his sights set on the next round of sports leagues and, of course, Summer Camp.
“I want to keep him active, because otherwise, he would stay inside to read and play video games,” she explains with a chuckle.
Meanwhile, Keidis is planning to join the Emerging Artist Apprenticeship in watercolors this January. Karen says he’s already knows fetish carving, which he does with his dad, so she encouraged him to try something new.
“He was excited about the program’s affiliation with the ARTZ (Ancestral Rich Treasures of Zuni) Cooperative and working with younger leaders like Elroy (Natachu Jr., ZYEP’s arts coordinator) and Kandis (Quam, arts assistant coordinator),” she says.
“The ZYEP people work so hard, and they work so well together,” she continues. “When you go in their building, you see people happy. They serve with all they have, which is such a good thing for our community.”
