The holiday season is a time for joy and giving. Still, for many Native American families living in remote Tribal communities, it can also highlight the challenges of poverty and limited access to resources. The Southwest Indian Relief Council® (SWIRC) program of Partnership With Native Americans® (PWNA) helps bring holiday cheer through its Children’s Stocking service, providing youth in reservation communities with stockings filled with toys, games, winter gear, and new toothbrushes.

Our Program Partner, LeeAnn B., is the parent liaison at Jeddito School in Arizona, and she utilized SWIRC’s Children’s Stocking service to brighten the holidays for kids in her isolated community. Jeddito, an exclave of the Navajo Nation surrounded by the Hopi Reservation, faces significant economic challenges, with a poverty rate of 55% — more than quadruple the national average. Jeddito was established as a Navajo exclave when the Joint Use Area shared between the Navajo and Hopi tribes was partitioned due to the Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act of 1974, leaving Jeddito surrounded by Hopi-designated land.

LeeAnn received 175 stockings for the students, bringing much-needed joy to families who often struggle to afford basic necessities. LeeAnn shared, “Thank you. Being out in these remote areas is hard. It’s too far to get to Walmart and other stores. We have to travel quite a distance, about an hour and a half, to get anything we need.”

Among the students were fifth graders Olivia R. and her cousin, Kylie B. Olivia, age 11, described her small community: “People usually call this ‘Jeddito Island’ because we are an island of Navajo land, but all around us is Hopi land. It’s a pretty small place, mainly just one road. There’s only one school here and one post office.”

Olivia, who is part Navajo and part Hopi, lives with her mother in Jeddito and frequently visits her father in the Hopi Reservation’s Old Oraibi village, one of the oldest continuously inhabited villages in the United States. She expressed her gratitude: “I’d like to say ‘thank you’ to the people who donated to us. Some families out here can’t afford these things.”

Kylie, age 10, shared her family traditions: “Every week before Christmas, we have a ceremony to thank the Creator for everything.” Her family, part Navajo, and part White Mountain Apache planned to celebrate Christmas with a wedding for her aunt. Kylie’s heartfelt message to donors was simple: “Have a Merry Christmas, and I hope you all get to spend time with your family.”

Olivia and Kylie noted the challenges of living in such an isolated area. Grocery shopping often means traveling to Keams Canyon on the Hopi Reservation, six miles away, or making the 93-mile trip to Gallup, New Mexico, for more options.

Thanks to the generosity of SWIRC donors, children like Olivia and Kylie could experience the joy of the holiday season despite their community’s challenges. Your support will continue to make a difference. Donate to SWIRC to spread holiday joy across isolated Tribal Nations.