The Indigenous Healing Festival is back — but in virtual form — after a hiatus last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Elena Higgins, co-founder and executive director of the nonprofit IndigenousWays, and its artistic director, Tash Terry, spoke to the Gallup Sun ahead of the event, scheduled for May 8 and 9.

“We have put on physical festivals, but this is a different beast entirely,” Higgins wrote in an email.

Terry called the event “a new beginning” for festivals — ones which can be attended virtually or in-person, depending on the participant’s choice.

“Because [of] this surge into Zoom as a result of the pandemic and the need to stay safe, a lot of the...

Special Olympians receive cleaning, protective supplies

Navajo Preparatory School senior Kaitlynn Knight said she could not see the faces of Special Olympians and parents through their masks when they stopped by the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office last week — but she knows they smiled.

For her senior project, Knight raised enough money to buy home cleaning and coronavirus-protective supplies for the families to take home in baskets. For two hours, on April 24, Knight handed off almost a dozen baskets through the families’ car windows as they drove through the Sheriff’s Office parking lot.

Knight’s project was part of CAS, a graduation requirement for the Navajo Prep...

As part of its mission, which includes providing accessible health care for vulnerable populations, Molina Healthcare launched MolinaCares Accord in 2020 as a way to invest in filling some of the gaps that still exist in healthcare. It made its first investment and ongoing funding commitment to the Community Pantry in Gallup April 28.

Because Molina believes that its members and their communities disproportionately experience more issues related to food insecurity, housing and other socioeconomic factors, it has donated $20,000 to support the services the pantry provides across McKinley and Cibola counties.

The funding will focus on The Wholehearted Food Fund, which provides...

Gallup High teacher prepares return to the classroom

Camille’s Sidewalk Café selects a teacher every month to be recognized and celebrated from within the Gallup area. Nominees are selected based on votes from students and their families on how and why they feel their teacher deserves the award of “Teacher of the Month.”

Joey Barreras (affectionately known by his students as Mr. B), who taught seniors at Gallup High School before temporarily retiring, is April’s choice. Barreras spoke to the Gallup Sun about his journey as a teacher, retiring temporarily due to the pandemic and that he is ready to come back.

Barreras also said he would like to thank Debra Trujillo, an...