NAVAJO NATION, ARIZONA The Community Lying at the intersection of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, the Navajo Nation is truly a nation within a nation. An ancient civilization is preserved both in ancestral ruins and traditional ceremonies that are still practiced today against the backdrop of the austere and majestic Painted Desert. Tuba City, in northeast Arizona, is the nation's largest Navajo town, and when Spanish explorers arrived in the area over 200 years ago, they wrote about the Navajo farming community there. Two centuries later, Tuba City serves as a cultural and economic center for these same Native Americans. Known as Tó Naneesdizí in Navajo, Tuba City is relatively less impoverished than other towns and villages in Navajoland. Still, nearly 30% of its 8000 residents live below the U.S. poverty line, a problem that has plagued Native Americans following a century of discrimination. Wealth to the Navajo, however, is not judged by the quantity of material possessions one has, but by membership in a family and a clan as you will discover living and working along side the Navajo people of Tuba City. Project Description MYX participants will work with Navajo teens to enhance the Tuba City Community Center by painting a large-scale outdoor mural and constructing an outdoor picnic area out of recycled materials. The project team can accommodate a maximum of 15 MYX participants in a first-come, first-served basis. Participants must be high school aged, and no art experience is necessary. Dates June 23 - July 5, 2008 Program Fee $1195 pp + airfare Application Letter Participant Application Day-by-Day Itinerary Credit Card Authorization Form © 2002 - 2008 Multicultural Youth eXchange.