An agenda item presented only as an information item turned out to be a main focus of the Chandler Unified Governing Board’s Aug. 19 meeting.
A land acknowledgement statement about the indigenous heritage in what’s now the Chandler area was on the Aug. 19 agenda as an announcement, pointing out that a statement would be included as part of every board meeting, beginning with the planned Sept. 9 regular meeting.
The land acknowledgement was also to be included in all district graduation ceremony programs moving forward.
Long before the Aug. 19 meeting agenda reached its information-item segment, land acknowledgments became a meeting topic. Board member Kurt Rohrs left the dais and spoke at the public’s lectern that’s never been used by any sitting board member but him over the past four years, speaking during the public input part of the meeting.
Rohrs said the land acknowledgement is discriminatory against the indigenous people it’s meant to serve, while putting the district at legal risk as well.
Board President Patti Serrano reminded Rohrs that the Arizona Attorney General’s office states that sitting office holders speaking during public input and attempting to portray voters, residents or taxpayers rather than voting board members, “is not a best-practice.”
“I’m not going to be intimidated into silence,” Rohrs said before leaving the dais for the public-input lectern.
In his alloted 2 minutes as part of public input, Rohrs said he not only thinks the land acknowledgement violates two specific Arizona state laws that involve discrimination against race, along with the fact it was added to board and district event documents without the board having voted on it.
“Later tonight, you will hear a decree,” Rohrs said. “This is an arbitrary decision that was never approved nor discussed by the board. There is no district policy that either requires or allows this.”
Rohrs said land acknowledgments “can be considered as a progressive, socialist, partisan political performance piece that has nothing to do with the academic performance of our students.”
He also stated the implication of such statements is that land was stolen from indigenous people, and that current residents have no right to be living on it.
“It has an aspect of guilt-shaming that is wholly inappropriate,” Rohrs said.
Rohrs was followed by 14 other public speakers — most of whom were in favor of including the land acknowledgement. Only Brett Wingate — a periodic critic of the board, especially Serrano — and one other person spoke against such inclusion.
Serrano interrupted public input after Rohrs spoke to correct what she described as “errors of fact.” She said the two laws in no way prohibit nor discourage land acknowledgments and that tribal heritage is not a race or ethnicity.
Rohrs listed several local Arizona governments that have never read land acknowledgments, while another list read aloud mentions those governing bodies that have one.
One of the area school boards that reads an acknowledgement is Kyrene, which has schools in Chandler, Tempe and Phoenix. Its statement even includes the mention of the “ancestral lands of the O’otham and Pee Posh peoples.”
One speaker, Rod Wielke, told the board it’s important to determine who had authority to create the acknowledgement and determine it should be part of meeting and graduation readings. He also wondered aloud if creation of a short promotional video about the acknowledgement, released last spring and which includes local students, was made using district resources and staff time.
Another public speaker, Chandler High School senior Ava Peterson, tearfully said she rarely saw representation of her people in schools.
“This acknowledgement is about the little ones,” Peterson said. “I want the next generation of Native students to know that their history, their communities and their families matter.”
Wingate stated a land acknowledgement “assumes things are stable,” pointing out how many different tribes had occupied North American land long before the Yavapai, Hohokam and Acoma people established cultures, and how a longer historical lens could be used in CUSD curricula.
Ginger Sunbird Martin is Pima from the nearby Gila River Indian Community and is a consultant who has a bachelor’s in American Indian Studies. She spoke at the meeting, pointing out that while the acknowledgement is a good first step, it’s more meaningful when the district pairs it with elements like accurate Native history in curricula and partnerships with local tribes.
Denise Alley, a national advocate who’s been the keynote speaker at a national indigenous conference, praised the acknowledgement for several reasons, pointing out that it was an indigenous and European settler combined effort to build the canal and irrigation system still used in the East Valley today.
Two union leaders pointed out that local, state and national labor organizations routinely have land acknowledgments at meetings and conferences.
Arizona College Prep High School senior Matt Comfort said “reading a few sentences” is not meaningful.
Antonette Shirley, CUSD’s indigenous engagement specialist, sang a blessing song as part of her 2 minutes of public input.
When the information item came up about the land acknowledgement, board member Ryan Heap said he was “a bit miffed” about the text being inserted into the meeting and graduation formats without formally addressing that as a board.
Board Vice President Barb Mozdzen agreed that the change should be voted on as an action item at an upcoming meeting, along with treating the incorporation of the acknowledgement as a formal policy change, for which there’s a district procedure.
Serrano, the board president, said after several presenters at a November 2025 Native American Heritage Month meeting event called for the acknowledgement, there was board consensus to add it.
Serrano said when the student video about the acknowledgement was played at that November 2025 meeting last school year, no board members objected publicly to the statement or the production of the video. Nor were any concerns raised around the time of the district’s first powwow event in April.
“I apologize if this caught anyone off-guard,” Serrano told the board Aug. 19. “I really didn’t think that a 1-minute, 48-second acknowledgement would stir so many concerns among board members.”
The written acknowledgement, as posted on CUSD’s Indigenous Education Program webpage, reads:
“The Chandler Unified School District acknowledged that the district is located on the ancestral land of the Piipaash, Akimel O’odham, Gila River, Salt River, Pima, Maricopa and Yaqui tribes.
“CUSD recognizes and respects the sovereignty of all Indigenous people, and understands the importance of a high quality learning community that welcomes and connects all students to successful future pathways.”
Email Jason W. Brooks at jbrooks@iniusa.org. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.
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