On October 27, 2022, a water tank broke, creating a major water infrastructure crisis within the Pueblo of Acoma. There was no running water, forcing the health clinic, dialysis center, and schools to close. The lack of running water was especially challenging and dangerous for elderly residents and others who do not have the resources or ability to haul water. Aaron Lowden, former Acoma Program Manager for Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps (ALCC), sent out the call to help deliver water to those in need. ALCC responded.

Native American Heritage Month, observed every November in the United States, is an opportune time to celebrate the rich and diverse Indigenous cultures, histories, and traditions rooted across our country. Join us in recognizing and celebrating Native contributions in community service projects this month, and every month, by learning how a Tribal Youth Corps Program in New Mexico is conducting lifesaving work in their community.

As a Native ancestral site, Wupatki holds deep meaning for a number of Southwestern cultural groups. That recognition has led to incorporating traditional knowledge and Indigenous viewpoints. To that end, young men and women with the Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps are key participants in the new grant-funded program. Crews from Zuni (and possibly other tribes in the future) are gaining field experience in stabilization and repair, and learning of possible professional careers in preservation and interpretation.

The tribe was awarded a $55,000 grant for the ethnobotany project from Great Outdoors Colorado in cooperation with Trees Water & People, Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps, and the Montezuma Land Conservancy.

Meet up with the Ancestral Lands Zuni crew as they maintain trails on the highest peak in Arizona and a sacred place to many indigenous people - Humphrey's Peak. Get to know the crew and their dedication to steward this sacred mountain.

In north-western New Mexico, traditional Indigenous farming methods are being passed down to protect against the effects of climate crisis

At Bears Ears National Monument, a crew of young men from the Pueblo of Zuni is caring for the cliff dwellings their ancestors built 800 years ago.

March 1, 2022 | Between Oct. 20-24, 2021 the Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps, Grand Canyon Youth and Grand Canyon Vegetation Program staff collaborated on a 2021 National Park Foundation Service Corps grant funded project titled, “Engaging Native American Youth in Habitat Restoration to Increase Recreation Access.”

December 20th, 2021 | Working with the Forest Service, Tribal governments and communities, Ancestral Lands conservation corps, and other partners, we are connecting small diameter timber from restoration projects led by NFF and the Forest Service with Tribal partners who split the wood and provide it to elders and other community members.

December 10th, 2021 | Sprinkled among the tall grasses, wildflowers, and Bebb’s willows (the southernmost stand of Bebbs in the world) are 20 or so 20-somethings, all Hopi and Tewa. Like Manuel, they are workers for Ancestral Lands, an Indigenous conservation corps tasked with removing waste wood from sunny Hart Prairie, a wide open meadow near Flagstaff, Arizona. Above them is the rugged skyline of the San Francisco Peaks, known as Nuva’tukya’ovi, or “The Place of Snow on the Very Top,” to Manuel’s people.