Southwest Region

SOUTHWEST REGION

Derek Capitan, Southwest Regional Representative

National UNITY Council Executive Committee

southwest@unityinc.org

Welcome to the Southwest Regional UNITY Page: UNITY’s Southwest Region consists of New Mexico and Colorado. The Southwest is rich in culture, languages, and history, as well as natural and historic sites, parks, and forests. Sites of interest in our beautiful region include Dinosaur National Monument, Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, Yucca House National Monument, Arapaho National Forest, Gila, Puye, and Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings, Cibola National Forest, Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, White Sands National Monument, El Morro National Monument, and Pecos National Historic Park, among so many other breathtaking locations. Colorado is home to two federally recognized tribes, Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute, although our Apache, Comanche, and Shoshone relatives have historically belonged to Colorado lands. 23 Indigenous nations call New Mexico home including nineteen Pueblos: Acoma, Cochiti, Isleta, Jemez, Laguna, Nambe, Ohkay Owingeh, Picuris, Pojoaque, Sandia, San Felipe, San Ildefonso, Santa Ana, Santa Clara, Santo Domingo, Taos, Tesuque, Zuni and Zia; two Apache Nations: Mescalero and Jicarilla; the Navajo Nation with bands in Alamo, Rahma, and To’hajiilee; and one sister Pueblo in Texas, Ysleta del Sur. Languages in our region include Ute, Keres, Tiwa, Tigua, Tewa, Towa, Navajo, Zuni, and Apache. Our Indigenous communities value education and place high importance on learning our languages. There is at least one pre-school or day care program in each community that is taught in that respective language. In our region, you can find language immersion schools and tribal colleges and universities. Scholarships make higher education possible, and we are proud to be the home region of the Cobell Scholarship and the American Indian Graduate Center, both of which provide hundreds of thousands of dollars to Indigenous college students every year.

Biography of Southwest Regional Representative, Derek Capitan

Derek Capitan (Laguna/ Navajo) is from the Laguna Pueblo of New Mexico. He is attending the University of New Mexico (UNM) pursuing a degree in environmental engineering. His interest lies within assisting communities on identifying healthy solutions to agricultural and water treatment practices. Derekis involved with UNM’s Center for Water and the Environment,    conducting research on Indigenous Lands that have been impacted by mining legacy. He is proud to be helping his people and he hopes to deliver results that will guide them to a promising future. Derek also involves himself in other school clubs dedicated to academic excellence and volunteerism. Derek, who is now a part of the United National Indian Tribal Youth Council (UNITY), serving as representative of the Southwest region, is looking for yet another challenge as he looks to lead Indigenous youth to promising opportunities. His passion is his youth as he believes that they are future leaders of tomorrow. He believes they hold a special gift in which his goal is to help them find that. He is looking forward to the exciting journey that lies ahead.