Field Trips
Field trips and tours will be offered primarily on Monday May 1, in the morning from 9-11:30 am. The Huhugam Heritage Center will be offered on Wednesday during the lunch break.
Huhugam Heritage Center
This modern cultural center highlights the ancestral, historic and current cultures of the Gila River Indian Community, made up of two tribes – the Akimel O’otham and the Pee Posh . Our mission is to ensure our Akimel O’otham and Pee Posh cultures flourish for future generations.
The Huhugam Heritage Center was built in 2003, fulfilling our Community vision to create a place for Community, culture, land, tradition and spirit: a place to honor and preserve our Him dak (our way of life).
Come experience our unique and calming architecture. The Center stair steps up out of the desert, the building silhouettes designed to blend in with the nearby mountain ranges and hills.
In our state-of-the-art collections repository we care for Huhugam, Akimel O’otham and Pee Posh treasures from our ancestral lands boundaries of the Huhugam (also known by the archaeological name Hohokam), master artists, farmers and crafts people of our desert home.
Gila River Interpretive Trail (MAR-5)
The Gila River MAR 5 Interpretive Trail is an outdoor educational living experience that will enlighten our visitors about our farming legacy. The overall design aspects that are incorporated into the Gila River Interpretive Trail are representative of the Akimel O’otham (Pima), and the Pee-Posh (Maricopa) cultures, which also include our ancient Huhugam.
Upon completion of a guided tour, our visitors should depart with a better understanding about our community and our Confederated tribes. Our visitors will also learn about our historic water settlement and how that struggle has impacted our community. They will also learn about a few of our plants, animals, landscape and experience the flowing Gila River waters in its natural habitat. For our O’otham and Pee-Posh visitors it is a place to come and reconnect to their heritage and culture and once again listen to the water as it flows in the Gila River streambed.
Sacaton Air Monitoring Station & DEQ Offices
The Sacaton Ambient Air Monitoring Site is one of the three sites located throughout the Gila River Indian Community. This site monitors pm10, ozone, and metrological parameters. DEQ office houses five departments: Air Quality Program, Water Quality Program, Pesticide Control Office, Waste Management Program, and the Wildlife and Ecosystem Management Program.