US EditionIn Arizona Borderlands, a Sacred Saguaro Harvest Marks the Tohono O’odham’s New Year
- At dawn, Cousins Tanisha Tucker Lohse and Maria Francisco harvest saguaro fruit, a sacred act central to Tohono O’odham New Year rituals, now experiencing cultural revival.
- In the 1960s, elder Juanita Ahil campaigned to preserve access to land in Saguaro National Park's foothills, amid health issues linked to loss of traditional foods and land rights.
- Cousins Tanisha Tucker Lohse and Maria Francisco harvest saguaro fruit at dawn, linking sacred traditions to the New Year and cultural revival among the Tohono O’odham.
- The Tohono O’odham’s sacred saguaro harvest fosters cultural revival through farm regeneration, youth education, and family pride, ensuring traditions persist for future generations.
- The Tohono O’odham’s late June harvest and ceremonies aim to preserve cultural traditions and ensure future generations carry on intergenerational prayers for monsoon rains and legacy.
60 Articles
60 Articles
The Trentonian
Why Tohono O’odham Nation’s centuries-old saguaro fruit harvest is experiencing a revival in Arizona
By GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Cousins Tanisha Tucker Lohse and Maria Francisco set off from their desert camp around dawn on most early summer days, in search of ripe fruit from the towering saguaro cactus, an icon of the Southwest that is crucial to the Tohono O’odham Nation’s spirituality. One plucks the small, thorn-covered fruits called “bahidaj” with a 10-foot-long (3-meter-long) stick made with a saguaro rib as the other catch…
Idaho State Journal
PHOTO ESSAY: Tohono O'odham families carry on sacred saguaro fruit harvest in Arizona borderlands
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The saguaro cactus is the iconic plant of the Arizona borderlands, and in June and early July, its thorn-covered small fruit ripens.
Washington Top News
In Arizona borderlands, a sacred saguaro harvest marks the Tohono O’odham’s new year
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Cousins Tanisha Tucker Lohse and Maria Francisco set off from their desert camp around dawn on most early summer days, in search of ripe fruit from the towering saguaro cactus, an icon of the Southwest that is crucial to the Tohono O’odham Nation’s spirituality. One plucks the small, thorn-covered fruits called “bahidaj” with a 10-foot-long (3-meter-long) stick made with a saguaro rib as the other catches them in a bucket. T…
Winnipeg Free Press
Why Tohono O’odham Nation's centuries-old saguaro fruit harvest is experiencing a revival in Arizona
Breaking News, Sports, Manitoba, Canada
The Killeen Daily Herald
In Arizona borderlands, a sacred saguaro harvest marks the Tohono O'odham's new year
The saguaro cactus is the iconic plant of the Arizona borderlands, and in June and early July, its fruit ripens. For the Tohono O'odham Nation, harvest time for the “bahidaj” is a sacred start to the new year. That's because…
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