The Flagstaff City Council humbly acknowledges the ancestral homelands of this area’s Indigenous nations and original stewards. These lands, still inhabited by Native descendants, border mountains sacred to Indigenous peoples. We honor them, their legacies, their traditions, and their continued contributions. We celebrate their past, present, and future generations who will forever know this place as home.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Approval of June 13, 2025, Retreat Minutes
Motion to approve Minutes as is or approve with amendments.

Commissioner Lomaomvaya motioned to approve the Minutes as is and seconded by Commissioner Hoskie. The motion passed unanimously.

Follow-up Conversation on Developing Mitigation for the Proposed Demolition of the Former Municipal Building at 19 W. Birch Avenue, Flagstaff, AZ.
Community Development Senior Planner Lauren Clementino will provide introductions. Caitlin Stewart, Co-Owner & Director of Cornerstone Environmental Consulting, LLC, will present the relevant findings of their study Phase 1 Historic Resource Study for 19 West Birch Avenue in Flagstaff and potential options for mitigation. The purpose of the discussion will be to select mitigation options to recommend to the Heritage Preservation Commission.

Lauren Clementino introduced Caitlin Stewart, Cornerstone, to provide a presentation on the culture resource study for the former City Hall, police & fire station, and courthouse located in the downtown area. The Heritage Preservation Commission has reviewed and accepted the report but not for mitigation. The mitigation measures involve the proposed major impact of demolition of the building, and that will come later as there are still some measures to be developed, such as the Native American civil rights history associated with the building. Caitlin Stewart provided an in-depth history of the building and also ideas that Cornerstone has for the interpretive mitigation. Today's meeting would include a selection of some of the ideas and these will be taken back to the Heritage Preservation Commission for consideration.

While there is not a lot of history connected to the building regarding City Hall, except for customers paying their water bills, there had been water damage to many of the documents that would have contained historical materials of the building and for the city in general. For the police and fire stations, much of the work was outside the building. Cornerstone started looking into the social movements and found information on the All Indian Powwow which ended during the 1970's. At the time, the American Indian Movement (AIM) came to Flagstaff during one of these powwows. They interrupted by taking the microphone away from someone and suggested that the dancers stop dancing due to exploitation of their Native ways. This caused the arrest of several individuals on felony charges, and they were held on a $25,000 bail per person for this misdemeanor. They were held for 30 days and eventually released due to the felony being reduced to a misdemeanor. AIM proceeded to meet with the Arizona Advisory Commission for the US Civil Rights Commission, who started touring with public meetings. Through this incident, it was uncovered that Indigenous people were being jailed for minimal violations and minimal dollar amounts that they could not cover. The ACLU also got involved. They went through every arrest and court case for three months and found that the Indigenous community members were being held in jail for crimes that would not have required jail time. It was also found that Indigenous community members had a guilty rate of near 95%. They were also processed in groups. Indigenous people were disproportionally not allowed on juries thus there was no representation. It was also found that judges, magistrates, or attorneys did not have any legal training. This included public defenders. Example: Three-four judges at the City Hall for 30 years had no legal training of any kind.

Caitlin Stewart covered a good portion of the report and how it affected the outcome of the changes that occurred in Flagstaff after that. Flagstaff became the focus of how other towns operated and how changes needed to happen. Flagstaff was an example of how the rest of Arizona was operating, especially near bordertowns.

Ideas on how to preserve this history were presented and this could be in several forms. It could be plaques with QR codes that would take visitors to a history or an education about the place. Some suggestions include murals or paintings. The hotel to be built is part of the Hilton - The Graduate - for university towns. The graduate motto is to incorporate local history. In this case, the marketing is "we are all students". They are also talking to local Indigenous artists, example would be the skateboard artist. Maybe incorporate a walking tour, with QR codes, through Thorpe Park - possibly include the future Indigenous Community Cultural Center and original powwow grounds. Arizona Memory project. Incorporate some of the original building materials back into the new building. These are some of the ideas shared by the IC. There was also another concern about the negative energy that could exist in the building space based on its history.

After another short discussion, the Commission voted on the following:
Move forward with the presentation from Caitlin Stewart on developing a type of interpretive walk that would include signage at those physical locations with QR codes. Also, moving forward with recommending this to the HP Commission that the final design will go back to the Indigenous Commission before it's signed off on. If other mitigation of other ideas are to be added, the Commission will notify Lauren Clementino or Kaitlin Stewart. Commissioner Lomaomvaya made the motion and Commissioner Hoskie seconded. Motion passed unianimously.

October 2, 2025, Indigenous Commission Meeting
Staff liaison Toehe will be attending a conference during the week of September 29–October 3. IC to consider moving the meeting to the following week, October 9, 2025, 11:00 AM, or leave as is.

Co-chair Lance made the motion to move the IC meeting to October 9, 2025, 11:00 AM. Commissioner Lomaomvaya seconded, the motion passed unanimously.

DISCUSSION ITEMS

Event Planning Update: Indigenous Peoples Day, October 13, 2025.
The planning work group will provide an overall update on what has been established and what tasks are still pending.

The IC was updated on the plans for IPD. The theme, venue, keynote speaker, and most other speakers/panelists are confirmed. Not confirmed are the MC and opening/closing prayer. Lunch will be provided and cost is covered, thanks to Commissioner Zavala. PowWow Jam's facilitator at NAU has been contacted and awaiting a reply. Suggestions to have back up for some of these roles will be considered. More updates to come and materials will be sent out to all commissioners.

INFORMATIONAL ITEMS TO/FROM COMMISSION MEMBERS, STAFF, AND FUTURE AGENDA ITEM REQUESTS

• Commissioner Marks would like to invite Housing Solutions to provide a presentation on how to become homeowners and the various available funding sources.
• Provide a community forum in the spring.
• The Heritage Preservation Commission is seeking to recruit members and has immediate vacancies.
• Announcement of Voices Unheard, Breaking the Silence on October 22 at the Coconino Center for the Arts.
• September 30th, Every Child Matters and to wear orange.
• Regional Plan and upcoming public hearings. Please provide comments. Special City Council meeting on October 9th.

ADJOURNMENT

Co-chair Darren Lance adjourned the meeting at 12:38 PM.