Note: This story by Mary Cathleen Wilson was originally published by Tribal College Journal and is shared here with permission. It also appears in the print version of Tribal College Journal, Volume 37, No. 2 – Winter 2025. View Original Article.
The Tohono O’odham Nation’s traditional homelands span across southern Arizona and northern Mexico. In the United States, those lands encompass 2.8 million acres with 34,000 tribal members. Moreover, the nation extends 62 miles along the U.S.-Mexico border with 14 Tohono O’odham villages in Sonora, Mexico. The Tohono O’odham have lived and farmed in the Sonoran Desert since ancient times.
Today, the Sonoran Desert faces growing climate-related drought, excessive heat, and cultural disruption. Yet at Tohono O’odham Community College (TOCC), the tribally chartered college of the Tohono O’odham Nation, there is an approach based on intergenerational strength rather than despair. The educational programs of TOCC and its Land Grant Office of Sustainability along with their micro-certificate programs in crop production and natural resources, including the Agriculture Extension Program, operate through principles that integrate relationality with place-based knowledge and ancestral wisdom.
Such ancient wisdom is rooted in the Himdag, a fundamental concept embedded in the Tohono O’odham Nation’s 1986 constitution. The Himdag represents a way of life that emphasizes interconnectedness, community, and respect for nature and supernature—the sacred and spiritual beliefs that influence daily life. It is a holistic worldview in which every element of life is interconnected, and respect for both the natural and spiritual realms is paramount. As a climate change strategy, the Himdag has promoted sustainable living, conservation of natural resources, and resilience against environmental changes since time immemorial. It’s a climate adaptation model we have had all along. And at TOCC, it is embedded in every aspect of the curriculum where elders serve as instructors and cultural teachings remain the foundation of the college.
Today, TOCC implements Indigenous and Western climate approaches to safeguard the Himdag during an environmental emergency. Through stories, community-led collaborations, and observations, TOCC serves its students and the Tohono O’odham Nation while protecting the land. The tribal college dedicates itself to cultivating both climate resilience and cultural survival through its Indigenous knowledge-based approach to education.
REZ DOGS AND RESILIENCE
The meeting room where I interviewed several members of the TOCC Himdag Committee looked completely different when I returned from lunch. The college’s Agriculture Extension Program staff and interns had used their lunch break to turn the meeting area into an educational display. The space had an exhibition-like appearance rather than the look of a typical conference room, with rows of labeled jars showcasing traditional O’odham seeds such as corn, beans, squash, and melons, along with a display of gourds, dried squash ropes, and devil’s claws, creating a visual representation of O’odham agricultural memory and resistance.
“The college operates on a structured, business-hour schedule, but agriculture doesn’t work like that,” a farm extension staff member explained. “You have to be present, we teach our youth and interns that you can’t just plant the seeds and walk away—you are their caretaker throughout the growing season and even after. You need to talk to the seeds because this is a part of our Himdag. We were given this food by our Creator, and it’s our responsibility to care for it and to re-educate our community about growing food without harmful chemicals. I’ve learned from our Farm Extension community leaders that it’s not just about us feeding the plant, it’s about caring for the soil. If you take care of the soil, the soil will take care of you in the times to come.”
The Agriculture Extension Program’s healthy rez dog ambled through the room while people petted it softly, adding to the friendly atmosphere. The space now joined traditional O’odham food production with presentation boards and PowerPoint slides, as an extension team member explained with calm pride TOCC’s traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) integration into its curriculum. During the walking tour of the extension field area, the passion of the program’s team extended beyond data—their words reflected a deep commitment to preserve the Himdag through traditions, memories, and the sacred duty of transferring ceremonial knowledge to future generations.
The essence of what TOCC represents becomes evident in this particular moment. The institution functions as both the Himdag protector through its dedication to traditional O’odham living practices and demonstrates how Indigenous organizations can serve as climate change leaders by uniting traditional wisdom with scientific principles. After spending the morning interviewing the TOCC Himdag Committee, which consists of faculty and community representatives and serves to guide the integration of O’odham values, I came to realize how the group helped to shape the cultural strategies of day-to-day functioning and TOCC’s educational mission to “transform students’ lives through quality higher education, research opportunities, and effective workforce and career preparation.” The institution stands as an example of reversal of the standardization of American Indian education systems, which have traditionally worked to eliminate or standardize Indigenous worldviews. The educational program at TOCC presents learning through the Himdag framework, utilizing O’odham knowledge alongside their language and values to reinvent the entire discussion around climate science.
The TOCC Agriculture Extension Program has achieved remarkable success in linking the community to the Himdag and traditional agriculture, but limited resources continue to be a significant barrier. The program employs a few interns despite growing interest from community members who want to learn traditional planting techniques. The demand for practical learning experiences extends throughout the Tohono O’odham Nation.
“When we talk to our community members, they tell us how much they want to learn—they want hands-on experience. But we can only accept five interns right now. We need to fix this because so many people want to learn how to grow their own traditional foods,” one team member noted. “How does the college truly serve them across the Tohono O’odham Nation—places like Florence, San Lucy, and beyond?” the team member asked. “San Xavier is fortunate—their co-op is already teaching their community. We need to reach everyone.”
THE HIMIDAG AS PLACE, TRADITION, AND CURRICULUM
Baboquivari Peak stands at 7,730 feet and can be seen across the Sonoran Desert landscape. It is a sacred place, and tribal members continue to use the towering mountain to guide them safely throughout their southern Arizona and northern Mexico religious journeys. The peak stood out distinctly on this bright spring morning, watching over the TOCC Farm Extension fields near Sells, Arizona, with a quiet presence that seemed to observe the community’s continued practice of their traditional ways despite climate uncertainty. One team member reflected, “The problem we are having with climate change is that it’s changing the way plants are growing. So, we are still learning from the plant. How do we take care of you, so that you can produce seeds?”
Indeed, over the past century, climate data shows that average year-round temperatures in the Tohono O’odham Nation have risen by nearly three degrees Fahrenheit. In the future, projections show that this trend is expected to continue. How much warming occurs depends largely on collective actions and decisions made by people far beyond the reservation borders.
The educational experience at TOCC teaches students to assess weather patterns and conduct temperature analyses as well as how to perform time-sensitive bahidaj (saguaro fruit) harvesting and to detect spiritual as well as physical signs in ciolim (cholla buds) production. At TOCC, students learn to hear the natural warnings of the land, and it is all rooted in the Himdag.
The Himdag teaches people to live in harmony with nature while respecting cultural heritage and community duties, encouraging both environmental sustainability and responsible resource management. The Himdag promotes a balanced connection with nature, which enables communities to adapt to temperature changes through traditional wisdom combined with modern practices. TOCC exists as the prime institution for preparing future generations to protect this living connection between land, culture, and climate.
The Himdag is not a metaphor. It is not a lesson plan or a philosophical idea to be added to a Western-based curriculum. It is a living, breathing expression of how the Tohono O’odham have survived and thrived in the Sonoran Desert since time immemorial. At TOCC, the Himdag is not a footnote in climate change education—it is the root.
The mission of TOCC as a tribal college is firmly based on the Himdag. It teaches that the climate is not just weather patterns, but part of a sacred and ancestral relationship. The Himdag includes teachings about the jewed (land) and shu:dag (water), as well as the plants, animals, and humans and our responsibility to maintain balance within creation. These beliefs have been shared through family stories, seasonal ceremonies, and now in a new era through college classrooms that refuse to separate climate change from cultural continuity.
Harvesting bahidaj (saguaro fruit) is a traditional and time-sensitive practice. Climate change has impacted harvesting and raised deep concerns about long-term viability. Photo by Jasmine D. Lopez
All courses offered across TOCC’s curriculum are based on this integrated worldview. For example, Tohono O’odham Food Systems is a course that introduces traditional and modern food practices through the lens of TEK. Students learn that the disappearance of bahidaj or the irregular blooming of ciolim are not just ecological data points; they are warnings that have been observed, felt, and remembered. Moreover, they study floodplain farming and ak chin water harvesting, gaining practical skills while honoring sacred duties to land and kin. Other courses like Foundations of O’odham Philosophy and Culture help students to develop their own personal philosophies based on Himdag values, using the “man in the maze” symbol to reflect on the spiritual path of life.
TOCC is different from other institutions because it does not let Western science dictate the conversation. Instead, it insists on a conversation that includes elders, farmers, climate scientists, and students. As several TOCC Himdag Committee members jointly noted, the college not only teaches the community about climate change—it teaches about what the land is telling us, and how our ancestors taught us to listen.
This model of education is deeply relational. TOCC classrooms become spaces where students can say “this is where my grandmother gathered seeds” and have that story valued as data, as curriculum, and as truth. Climate change education here is not only about preparing students to write grants or collect temperature data, but also about training them to become guardians of the Himdag so they can adapt accordingly. It equips them with the tools to meet drought and disaster with resilience and reverence. It is what education looks like when sovereignty isn’t just a policy, but a pedagogy.
HANDS IN THE SOIL, EYES ON THE FUTURE
Tohono O’odham Community College functions as the reliable protector of climate resilience because of its strong commitment to the Himdag, basing its climate change literacy education on ancestral traditions combined with modern science. Through its Agriculture Extension Program and the Land Grant Office of Sustainability, TOCC maintains its position as a national model of Indigenous climate leadership because it respects the sacred bond between the O’odham and their land.
TOCC serves as a guiding light for the Sonoran Desert region by developing students who become cultural scientists and active participants in environmental sustainability and heritage preservation. The institution transforms education through its integration of sovereignty and scholarship while solidifying its position as environmental steward and innovator in adapting to climate change. The educational practices at TOCC actively build resilience and reverence to create a sustainable future which remains deeply rooted in Tohono O’odham traditional knowledge systems. However, TOCC’s goal to increase climate change literacy unfolds amid a broader political environment that threatens to limit Indigenous educational sovereignty.
As a model of Indigenous climate leadership and educational autonomy, the story of Tohono O’odham Community College has implications for the national debate, especially now as we face more pressures to exploit tribal lands for critical minerals or cuts to Indian-focused programs. “Now more than ever in recent years, leaders must remain focused on a clear vision of our purpose, articulate consistently our mission as tribal colleges, and remain calm amidst the uncertainty of today and tomorrow,” states TOCC president Stephen Schoonmaker. Indeed, the Tohono O’odham Community College intends to survive and lead with authenticity, innovation, and a strong commitment to the Himdag, their way of life.
Mary Cathleen Wilson is a Tohono O’odham climate journalist and educator.
View the original version of this article on the website of Tribal College Journal: https://tribalcollegejournal.org/a-model-of-modern-resilience-scenes-from-the-climate-change-frontlines-at-tohono-oodham-community-college/