2023 SXAA CONFERENCEs
SXAA 2023 Annual Meeting
The San Xavier Allottee Association, Inc. By-Laws require that each year an Annual Meeting be held to update Allottees on matters that are mission critical to the landowners so that they can make the proper decisions around matters that could affect their interest in their allotment.
Our Keynote Speaker: Tahda Ahtone, Esq. (Kiowa Tribe), SXAA's attorney that assists with Life Plans and Economic Development. She earned her Juris Doctorate in 2013 from ASU. She is the majority owner and founder of JackRabbit Development LLC, a sustainable design company.
This year's speaker includes the following;
Long Term Storage Credits by Daniel Preston, III, TOLC Rep, San Xavier
SAWRSA by Velma Begay, SAWRSA Office for San Xavier
Natural Resource Project Update by Ci'ena Schlaefli, NR Specialist
SX Coop Farm Report by Duran Andrews, Farm Manager
SXAA Annual Report -by Ben Standifer, Jr., Executive Director
2022 SXAA CONFERENCEs
"Our Land, Our Future" SXAA 2022 Youth Conference
The San Xavier Allottee Association, Inc. annually hosts a youth conference that focuses on developing the interests of the youth as it relates to being a future Allottee, a future "defender of the land."
Our Keynote Speaker: Jacelle Ramon-Sauberan (San Xavier - Tohono O'odham) is currently a Doctoral Candidate in American Indian Studies with a minor in Journalism and faculty in the Tohono O'odham Studies Program at Tohono O'odham Community College.
This year's speaker includes the following;
Recycling by Sheila Chavez - Solid Waste
Climate Change by Ci'ena Schlaefli, Natural Resource Specialist
Water as a Resource by Dr. Selso Villegas
Southern Arizona Water Rights Settlement Act - Velma Begay, SAWRSA Manager
2022 Semi-Annual - Conference Defenders of the O'odham Land Rights
This year's Semi-Annual Conference was the first in-person event hosted by the SXAA in two and a half years. Over 170 Allottees, convened on a rainy Saturday to hear from guest and keynote speakers, shop from O'odham vendors, and catered food by Desert Diamond Casino/Hotel, those who attended shared that they truly had the experience like non-other while getting to know other "defenders"!
This year's speakers were Laurence Marquez, Department of Interior, Office or Reclamation, who talked about the drought situation in Arizona and how it will impact the San Xavier District and Southwest Arizona. Attorney Tahda Ahtone, who discussed, Intergenerational Wealth Transfer, this referenced how Allottees can transfer their allotments to family members in this day and age of AIPRA. Duran Andrews, Farm Manager of the San Xavier Cooperative Association, presented a detailed report on recent events that have allowed them to make positive changes to redirect the Cooperative to better management and better revenue.
The new Executive Director of San Xavier Allottee Association, Inc. addressed the Allottees for the first time while presenting the Annual Report for SXAA FY 21 & FY22. Lucinda Nunez, SXAA Board of Directors Vice President, and Philbert Bailey, SXAA Treasurer, also provided reports as part of the reports to the Allottees.