/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
Starlight Projects is a charity founded by indigenous and Native American people, and originated in Snowflake. It is a social service agency that works with the purpose of uniting and educating youths and families on Native American ways.
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
“Starlight Projects was founded with ideas from The International Council of First Nations,” said Executive Director Krys Al-Shalaldeh. “That encompasses not just the first people here, which are Native Americans, but the first people everywhere because we believe, ultimately, that we were all tribal in the beginning.”
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
Everyone can participate at Starlight Projects, which is a nonprofit organization and works off of donations and volunteers. The group also assists other individuals or groups with endeavors that share the same goal of unity.
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
Starlight Projects brings different cultures together with the intent to empower and educate. “Starlight Projects really encompasses everyone because we’re all starlight projects. Each one of us is a project of the universe. In what we call the 3D world, which is the material world, as opposed to the spiritual world where we also live in, which is where we pray and things like that.”
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
Coming soon east of Snowflake from Starlight Projects is a culture camp called Estrella Ranch where anyone can gather in a communal spot and participate in different aspects of Native American culture through things like agriculture, and arts and crafts workshops, traditional cooking and history lessons, dance and prayer ceremonies, and story circles.
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
“Later on, we plan on inviting everyone and sharing culture through things like a sweat lodge and a fire ceremony, which is a prayer for us. We pray and we believe the smoke of the sage-ing and fire takes our prayers in the wind, and we will be inviting people to join us.” The charity organization is in the process of developing a cabin complex for this project and, because Starlight Projects is accepting monetary donations, materials for the cabins and volunteers are welcome.
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
“We would like to thank Judge Peterson and Chief Larry (Scarber) who just retired. If it wasn’t for their encouragement to keep going regardless of the hardships that we encountered along the way to get the charity set up in Snowflake, we would not have succeeded.
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
Al-Shalaldeh recalled that it was during the Cedar Creek Fire in 2016, where the group was able to serve the community by providing food and water, that he knew they were where they needed to be. “That tied us to the community very strongly, to the point where I decided that this is where I want to set down my roots.”
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
To learn more about Starlight Projects, contact them at (602) 655-1565 or through mail at P.O. Box 1896, Snowflake, Ariz., 85937.
/wp:paragraph
