Community Spotlight: Barbara Johnson

Barbara Johnson fondly remembers growing up in the community, back when things were “quieter” and people got around with horse-drawn buggies and there were not too many cars, although Barbara remembers that her grandfather owned a Ford. There was only one police officer and “not much trouble around.”

Barbara lived with her grandmother and grandfather who grew vegetables, wheat and cotton. They also raised chickens and turkeys.

“Sometimes I would go with my grandfather in the Ford to deliver vegetables all over the community. At Thanksgiving time, people would come from Phoenix to buy their vegetables or turkeys,” said Barbara.

She also remembers the row of cottonwood trees along Thomas and 92nd Street.

“My brother and I liked to ride horses to the little canal to water them. There were a lot of cottonwoods back then and the ditch was steep so we had to be careful,” said Barbara.

At age six, Barbara attended Beginners Class at Salt River Day School. When she wasn’t in school, Barbara would help her grandmother with the turkeys, chickens and gardening.

“Sometimes when we were out in the morning, we would see the Germans [POWs] walk by on their way to work at the Granite Reef Dam,” said Barbara. “Some would smile and wave and once when I waved back, my grandmother said, ‘Don’t be waving at them. They are fighting our boys.’ I was about 8 or 9 then.”

Later, Barbara attended Scottsdale High School, where she was in the pep squad. She was a Scottsdale Beaver through and through. She enjoyed attending the football and basketball games. It was at a game that she met her husband, Lloyd. He attended the Phoenix Indian School. He was smitten and wrote to her often. They would also talk over refreshments when their schools played each other. Eventually, they married and moved to Phoenix.

When Lloyd joined the Army, Barbara and their two eldest daughters moved back to Salt River to live with her grandmother and grandfather.

By then, her grandfather was working with a home builder and she remembers that when her grandfather passed away, the man built her family a block home.

Years later, Barbara decided to go back to school mainly to help her church—her grandparents had instilled a love of the church in Barbara.

“My grandparents taught me everything and made sure I went to church,” she said. “I loved to sing in the choir and still do.”

Though Barbara grew up Christian, she had a love of her native language. She began translating the church hymns into O’Odham.

“I sang with translated choirs from Papago and Gila River when they needed my help and have attended many camp meetings,” recalled Barbara.

In the late 1980s, Barbara served as the assistant director for the community’s senior center. She enjoyed getting to know the seniors and speaking with them in her native language. She was often selected to speak at conferences on behalf of the community seniors. She enjoyed meeting people from other tribes and cultures at the conferences and sharing the O’Odham culture with them.

When she retired from the senior center, Barbara renewed her passion for preserving and passing on her native language. She wrote the O’Odham Dictionary for the Salt River Elementary School Culture Program and it was used for many years.

She also began translating and teaching the language when invited, for those who were interested in learning. She even taught a Miss Salt River d how to sing the national anthem in O’Odham.

Today, Barbara continues to help community departments and organizations with translation, and has had young couples come to her for help with traditional baby names.

“Whatever is needed, I just enjoy it,” said Barbara.

Barbara now has 14 grand- and great-grandchildren. She lives with her great-granddaughter Razmei, whom Barbara has raised since infancy.

Though it is a bit noisier in the community than when she was growing up, Barbara still enjoys living here and is grateful for all that her grandparents taught her.

“All my children went to school, graduated and have careers. Now I am a grandparent and a great-grandparent and will pass on what I know,” said Barbara.