Holbrook Indian School
A Seventh-day Adventist Boarding Academy Serving Native American Youth Since 1946
Agricultural Program:
Growing and Harvesting in the Desert By James Hunt, with Alyssa Williams
P
erhaps you have driven across the United States on Highway 40. If so, you would have passed through Holbrook, Arizona. Other than the Wigwam Motel off Route 66 and the Petrified National Forest, Holbrook does not attract many visitors. However, this high desert land is where Holbrook Indian School (HIS) is located. I have been working as the director of agriculture education at this amazing school for a few years now, growing healthy food for the students, staff, and community.
The main objective of the agricultural program is to supply healthy food to the students and staff and to teach the students how they can grow nutrient-dense food for their families in the future. Many of our students come from the Navajo reservation. As with many
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youth today, fast food and heavily processed food are the norm. Growing your own food is a lost skill, and health issues are on the rise. We restarted the farm several years ago because we believe it has wholistic benefits for every student. All that we do at HIS is under the umbrella
of MAPS (mental, academic/artistic, physical, and spiritual wholeness). Studies show that getting your hands in the soil is restorative. Our desire is for our students to develop a love for a healthy lifestyle—and what better way than to get them working the land!