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Your voice makes the Difference!

Lios Em Chanivu, Achalim, Ma’alam, Anhelitom, Yoemia, sime yeu tahtia,

 

Inepo Sergio Varela Tea,

 

I hope and pray this letter finds you and your family in the best of health and in good spirits. May our Creator Itom Achai, our Blessed Mother, our Guardian Angel, our Patron Saint San Ignacio De Loyola and all Patron Saints from all of our communities bless you all.

 

I would like to thank you for taking a moment to read my views, opinions, and goals.

 

I am honored to officially announce my candidacy for a seat on the 2024 Pascua Yaqui Tribal Council. I respectfully ask my elders, family, and friends for your continued support and guidance as I continue this path in representing you once again - our tribal members as one of the newly elected Tribal Council member. I consider myself fortunate and blessed to descend from a family lineage deeply rooted in our rich culture and Yoeme heritage. I am grateful to have been instilled with a profound set of values and beliefs by my grandparents, Francisco "Pancho" Ochoa, and Maria Carmen Frias Ochoa passed down to them by their elders before them. These teachings passed down from generation to generation have allowed me to embrace our Yoeme heritage and continue the traditions, beliefs, and values of our culture as a proud member of the Kohtumvre Ya'ara, serving as a cultural leader (Capitan).
 

My platform is simple, ‘Your voice makes the Difference’ with your vote and your voice, together we can build a healthy Nation, a healthy body, mind and spirit.

AREAS OF FOCUS
Education

I believe education will make us stronger. Education about our world, our environment, our struggles, and our triumphs must be taught and passed on to our younger generations. Our history and traditions are the foundations of our culture and our tribe. I believe we must actively develop and support programs to retain our language and history along with programs to allow us to succeed professionally and prosper economically.  There is so much knowledge and talent spread across our various communities, we must ensure that none of it gets lost, forgotten, or overlooked. - Our tribal elders hold the key to our future by teaching us about our past. Retaining our Tribal Identity is not just the responsibility of a few, we can all do our part to prevent the degradation of our language, our traditions, our history, and our culture. With your support, I plan to help develop more educational programs aimed at personal professional growth and the preservation of our culture for future generations.

 

Initiatives we’ve focused on:

  • Higher Education - During this past term I was involved in raising the amount of money granted for university and college tuition for our tribal members pursuing a degree.

  • Make Education more Accessible - We partnered up with the University of Arizona to create a micro campus at the (Old Hohokam Middle School). It currently offers degrees, courses, and certificates with concentration tracks in: Tribal Courts & Justice Administration, Tribal Economic Development, Indigenous Governance, Tribal Natural Resource Management, Professional Development, and Information Technology.

  • Early Childhood Education – A bigger and better center is being built to serve the needs of our youngest members to prepare them for a successful and prosperous academic career. Currently under construction, phase 1 is set to be completed in early 2025, (funding permitting) phase 2 is set to open in late 2026.

  • Make Resources more Accessible – With the purpose of making services and resources more available to tribal members living across areas like Marana and Metro Tucson, the old Richey Elementary school located in Old Pascua was purchased and is slated to be used as a permanent PYT Administration building. The building will continue to offer educational resources, training, and physical sports for youth and adults with plans to incorporate other essential and needed services for the community.

  • Foundational Education - Some of our future plans entail establishing and cultivating a tribal K-3 school system with a curriculum rooted in our culture’s values. The goal is to provide language and culture courses focused on safeguarding our heritage for the prosperity of future generations to come.

Economic Development

Our tribe and our people have come a long way in the last 46 years since our recognition. We have developed various enterprises that not only generate revenue for programs, services, and infrastructure, they also generate employment options for many of our tribal members. I plan to expand on opportunities for tribal employment by exploring possibilities for new enterprises.

 

Initiatives we’ve focused on:

  • Invest in the future – One of the biggest efforts put forward this past term has been the continuation and development of the new Casino to be located on Grant Road and the I-10 Freeway. This project has required the purchase of adjacent properties. We have diligently been working towards acquiring all the properties necessary to make that new Casino an additional economic driving force for our tribe. We are exploring partnerships to offer more employment opportunities for our tribal members and local residents while allowing us to diversify our revenue streams. The goal and vision is to create a unique and desirable gaming destination with various amenities and extras that our guests will enjoy. Setting us apart from other local casinos.

  • Improving Communities - In Guadalupe we have purchased a large area of land at the Rest Haven Cemetery so that members in the Guadalupe/Phoenix area can be laid to rest there if they so choose.

Housing

Our lives, our stories, our memories and our dreams start at home. Having safe, reliable and dependable housing is not just a necessity it's a right. As your representative I plan to increase housing options for tribal members on and off the reservation.

 

Initiatives we’ve focused on:

  • Provide Help when needed – Through the use of federal funds we were able to provide assistance to those in need for Rent, Mortgage, and Utilities.

  • Build Homes – Through our continued efforts and projects to provide safe and reliable housing we have built various homes and buildings.

    • Project #7 (in Final Stages) - 50 two, three, and four bedrooms in two story and single story homes. (Continued efforts from previous council)

    • Project #8 (in Final Stages) - 27 two, three, and four bedroom townhouses (Continued efforts from previous council)

    • Project #9 - A 5-story 50-unit housing complex with two, three, and four bedroom single family unit apartments

    • Project #10 - (Completed) A 4-story 45-room housing complex for our seniors.

  • Home Improvements – For tribal members on and off the reservation, we performed home repairs and made renovations, and replaced A/C Units for homeowners and renters.

  • Purchase Homes for Elders – Facilitated the purchase of Tiny Homes for tribal elders.

  • Purchase Additional Lots – Continued purchases of neighboring lots to expand reservation boundaries behind Pascua Yaqui Justice Center.

Financial Literacy

Having the financial freedom to make life decisions without being stressed about having enough to pay bills or put food on the table should be easily attainable for our tribal members. However, achieving financial freedom doesn't happen overnight. If elected, I plan to provide educational programs for our tribal members focused on budgeting, saving, and debt management so they can build a strong financial future for themselves and their families. Dreams of becoming a homeowner, buying a new car, and going on vacation should not be just dreams, they should be a reality. I see a future where our tribal members reach a financial freedom where they can save money for emergencies, make investments for the future, and ensure they have money set aside for their retirement. 

Healthcare

Our health is very important. In order for us to stay strong as a people, we must stay healthy. As your representative I plan to increase the number health and wellbeing programs available to tribal members on and off the reservation. Our geographical footprint is growing and with that so must the resources we offer to our tribal members. I plan to explore the possibility of partnering for more local organizations to better provide the health services our tribal members want and need.

 

Initiatives we’ve focused on:

  • Expand our Healthcare Infrastructure - A brand new Healthcare Building is being built in Guadalupe to serve that community (Currently in progress, completion set for Fall of 2024).

  • Ensure our Community’s Health - During the Covid19 pandemic we took the initiative to proactively mitigate the effects the virus had on our community by establishing free COVID testing for tribal members, employees, and neighboring communities at the Albert Garcia Auditorium. 

    • Offered Free Vaccines - In an effort to keep our members healthy and safe we established testing and vaccine locations at Casino Del Sol for Employees and Guests. By taking it upon ourselves to proactively mitigate the effects of COVID-19 by offering free testing and vaccines, we were able to lessen the number of cases within our tribe and neighboring communities.

  • Established Plans for Disaster Preparedness/Recovery –

    • Assisted the town of Guadalupe with federal funds to aid with COVID efforts.

    • Developed an Emergency Response Team, along with PYT Government/Casino departments to manage, organize, and execute the past COVID-19 Pandemic efforts, and create contingency plans for possible future disasters.

Environment

Our environment is important, we must protect our air, land, water, natural resources, and each other. Protecting our environment goes hand in hand with protecting our health. As Yaqui people, we have a relationship with the earth, animals, and all things our Creator made. We must recognize that our collective wealth and opportunities are related to how we use and grow our resources. As your council representative I plan to do what is in the best interest and benefit for all communities by providing equal opportunities, and resources.

 

Initiatives we’ve focused on:

  • Reclaiming Resources - Revisited/reviewed potential plans to build a water reclamation plant to reduce the need for potable water currently used for landscape and vegetation irrigation. Having the ability to reuse and reclaim water for non-human consumption will help our community contribute to a more sustainable environment reducing our dependence on other sources especially during times of extreme drought.

Culture and Language

I strongly believe that strengthening our language and our culture is the key to our success. Our culture and traditions are the foundations of our tribe. We must do everything in our power to retain and strengthen that. Our tribal elders hold the key to our future by teaching us about our past. Retaining our Tribal Identity is not just the responsibility of a few, we can all do our part to prevent the degradation of our language, our traditions, our history, and our culture. With your support, I plan to help develop more educational programs aimed at personal professional growth and the preservation of our culture for future generations.

 

Initiatives we’ve focused on:

  • Facilitate Cultural Participation – During the wake of the Covid 19 pandemic, we offered testing and vaccines for our cultural participants from Mexico enabling them to cross and making sure that they were safe and not infected and keeping our communities safe by complying with current health regulations.

  • Facilitated obtaining VISAs - Assisted in obtaining VISAs for many of our active tribal participants.

  • Improve Cultural Grounds – Every community over the last term has benefited from construction efforts to improve and/or expand kitchens, restrooms, ramadas, and Church buildings.

  • Put Additional Lands in Trust – As part of the Grant Rd. Casino additional lands were purchased and/or put into trust that will protect and ensure cultural entity and sanctity. San Ignacio Cultural grounds and the Santa Rita Landscaping located by old Pascua have been put into trust. In some cases, the land and buildings are being leased to local businesses while further planning is made on future use of the land. This allows us a tribe to generate extra revenue streams and not just have vacant or unused land.

THANK YOU

I am deeply grateful for the trust and support you have shown me during my time serving on the Pascua Yaqui Tribal Council. Together, we have made significant strides in addressing the needs and concerns of our community. However, our work is far from over. I am committed to building on the progress we have achieved and advocating for further positive changes that will benefit us all. You and your vote will help ensure that I continue to support efforts of the past term and push forward with new initiatives that will enhance the well-being and prosperity of our tribe. With your support, I will continue to listen to your voices, fight for your causes, and work to create a brighter future for our people.

 

I humbly ask that you please vote for me and allow me the opportunity to serve you and our community once again. Together, we will make a difference.

 

Thank you.

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