09/29/2026
🌵 This past Friday, we honored our Native American mural — a piece that covers an entire wall of our cafeteria — with a dedication ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of its creation by renowned Navajo artist, Elmer Yazzie. It was a lovely event. Our former principal, Dr. Katie Root, who led Laguna for nearly 20 years and helped spearhead the original mural project, returned to take part in the celebration.
🌵 Students were involved throughout the ceremony — one of our students sang the Star-Spangled Banner — and a representative from the Scottsdale Center for Arts also attended. Local SUSD advocate, Scottsdsle Leadership co-founder, and Charros member, Mr. Gary Shapiro, and the Phoenix Indian Center also took part in the ceremony.
🌵 As a STEAM school, we value science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math. At Laguna, we celebrate all different forms of art, including art class, music, strings, band, drama, choir, and more!
🌵 We are so lucky to have Mr. Yazzie’s 20 year-old Navajo mural in our Cafeteria! It’s important to reflect upon its artisty and history. How wonderful that we are now reconnected with the artist, Mr. Elmer Yazzie. He drove over seven hours to be with us Friday, all the way from New Mexico.
🌵 After the assembly, he taught our 4th graders how to paint with yucca bushes, which they chewed on to create natural paintbrushes. The kids made original watercolors, using their homemade yucca paintbrushes. If you would like to learn more about Mr. Yazzie‘s art, please check him out on Facebook or Instagram. Thank you for supporting the arts at Laguna!
