Tucson approves renaming of local park to honor local Tohono O'odham elder
Tucson's Mayor and Council approved renaming Christopher Columbus Park to Danny Lopez Park Wednesday in honor of the Tohono O'odham educator and elder who dedicated his life to preserving the Tohono O'odham language and culture.
In a September 2024 letter to Lara Hamwey, director of Tucson Parks and Recreation, supporters of renaming the park in honor of Lopez stated that the change would be "a step toward reconciliation and healing."
The signatures that supported the name change included Lopez's wife and daughter, the Tucson Native Youth Council, and a handful of community members and leaders.
The following month, Tucson Parks and Recreation responded to the proposal by announcing a 45-day public comment period, allowing community members to share input on the name change.
As of Feb. 19, 2025, the renaming proposal was approved by the city.
Danny Lopez was a revered and beloved Tohono O'odham elder and educator in the Tucson community. He was a traditional singer, storyteller, and educator of Tohono O'odham culture.
Over his 30-year teaching career, from primary school to college, he taught Himdag to hundreds of Tohono O'odham Nation members.
In 2005, he was named the recipient of the Spirit of the Heard award, given by the Heard Museum to southwest tribal members who demonstrate personal excellence and community leadership.
Lopez was born in the village of Ge Oidag (Big Field). He graduated from St. John's Indian School and joined the Marine Corps. He worked in mining while attending night classes on his way to becoming a Language and Culture Instructor at Tohono O'odham Community College.
Though he died in 2008, his community impact continued.
The history of the Tohono O'odham people predates the formation of the United States and the Republic of Mexico.
The O'odham inhabited an enormous area of land in the southwest, extending South to Sonora, Mexico, north to Central Arizona (just north of Phoenix, Arizona), west to the Gulf of California, and east to the San Pedro River. The land was called Papagueria and it was home to the O'odham for thousands of years, according to O'odham history.
The Gadsen Purchase impacted the Tohono O'odham through the loss of land and an implementation of the U.S.-Mexico border that divided their people.
O'odham bands are now broken up into four federally recognized tribes: the Tohono O'odham Nation, the Gila River Indian Community, the Ak-Chin Indian Community and the Salt River (Pima Maricopa) Indian community.
Originally named Silverbell Park, the site was renamed Christopher Columbus Park in 1990 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Columbus' arrival in the Americas.
The Tucson chapter of the Knights of Columbus led the renaming effort, aiming to honor the explorer as part of the international celebration.
Azul Navarrete-Valera, former co-president of the Tucson Native Youth Council, expressed that previously named Christopher Columbus Park "glorifies a man whose actions perpetuated the mass genocide, abuse, and oppression of Indigenous peoples."
Honoring the shift of perspective on history and cultural representation, the park was renamed again to honor Lopez and his impact on the local community.
The name change received strong community backing, including support from Tucson council members Lane Santa Cruz and Kevin Dahl, who are reportedly funding the $10,000 cost to update the park's signage.
In the coming months, park signage and other online references will be updated to reflect the new name. Residents can expect more details soon about a formal dedication ceremony to celebrate this milestone, Tucson Parks and Recreation, said.
The park's new name, Danny Lopez Park, stands as a testament to the importance of honoring local Indigenous leaders and their contributions to cultural preservation and education, Tucson Parks and Recreation said.
Reporter Olivia Rose contributed to this article.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Tucson's Christopher Columbus Park is now Danny Lopez Park. Here's why
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Facing extinction, rare Florida swamp flower could get more protections
One of Florida's rarest and most beloved swamp dwellers, the ghost orchid, could soon see increased protections under the federal Endangered Species Act. Citing the flower's growing risk of extinction, officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week announced a proposal to list the ghost orchid as an endangered species. The decision is being hailed by experts as a lifeline for the phantom flower after decades of poaching, dwindling wetlands and habitat loss have cut its Florida population in half and plummeted its chances of survival. Federal wildlife experts say there are fewer than 1,000 ghost orchids remaining in the United States, and less than half of those are old enough to reproduce. Globally, the ghost orchid's population has dropped by an estimated 90% in recent decades. 'The ghost orchid is Florida's most famous flower, and it deserves a chance to live,' said Melissa Abdo, the Sun Coast regional director for the National Parks Conservation Association. A true child of the swamp, the ghost orchid clings high up on ancient cypress trees and pond apples, blooming in the hushed humidity of midsummer. Its white, dangling petals, seemingly aloft in midair, are the reason for its ghoulish name. A proposed increase in ghost orchid protections comes more than three years after a coalition of environmental advocacy groups, including the parks association, the Center for Biological Diversity and The Institute for Regional Conservation, petitioned the feds to add the ghost orchid to the list of endangered species. Jaclyn Lopez, director of the St. Petersburg-based Jacobs Public Interest Law Clinic for Democracy and the Environment at Stetson University's College of Law, helped file the petition in 2022. An endangered species listing imposes civil and criminal penalties under federal law for anyone who removes the flower from federal or state public lands, according to Lopez. The decision also requires federal wildlife officials to chart a course for its recovery. 'Once finalized, (the Endangered Species Act) listing will ensure a future where wild Florida is enriched and adorned by this beauty,' Lopez told the Tampa Bay Times in a statement. The ghost orchid is found in a small sliver of Florida swamplands, including in the Big Cypress National Preserve, the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge and Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park. Other conservation and tribal lands in Collier, Hendry and possibly Lee counties are also home to the orchid, according to the nonprofit environmental groups. Western Cuba also has a population of ghost orchids, where they're also considered critically threatened, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Wildlife officials aren't listing a specific critical habitat boundary for the flower, because they said it could increase the risk of poaching. In 2023, state wildlife officials said they caught people attempting to steal a ghost orchid from public swamplands. The flower's lore, and the thievery it draws, also inspired journalist Susan Orlean's 1998 nonfiction bestseller, "The Orchid Thief." The listing proposal was formally published in the federal register Thursday, beginning a 60-day public comment period ending in early August. The coalition of nonprofits that filed the initial petition underscored the importance of federal wildlife staff as the Trump administration has deteriorated habitat protections and laid off employees with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, including in Florida. 'This is welcome news for Florida's famously cryptic ghost orchids,' Elise Bennett, the Florida and Caribbean director and attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, wrote in a statement to the Times. But 'with incessant attacks on landmark environmental laws meant to stop species from going extinct, we know our job here isn't done.' The Tampa Bay Times launched the Environment Hub in 2025 to focus on some of Florida's most urgent and enduring challenges. You can contribute through our journalism fund by clicking here.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Osceola Sheriff Marcos Lopez's arrest follows years of controversies
The shocking Thursday arrest of Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez on racketeering charges follows other controversies during his five-year tenure at the county's biggest law enforcement agency. In early 2022, Osceola deputies chased Jean Barreto-Baerga, a motorcyclist they believed was part of a group of bikers accused of pointing guns at motorists, to an Orlando Wawa. An altercation ensued, and a deputy used a stun gun while gasoline pooled beneath him and Barreto-Baerga, igniting both on fire. The deputy suffered burns on his legs while Barreto-Baerga suffered burns across three-quarters of his body. After the deputy was acquitted in a criminal trial, Barreto-Baerga filed a lawsuit this year against the sheriff's office and blamed Lopez for a 'culture of sanctioning excessive force' at the agency. In April 2022, a 20-year-old who drove a car carrying two passengers accused of shoplifting $46 in pizza and Pokémon cards, was shot and killed by Osceola deputies in a Target parking lot. Deputies in unmarked vehicles had blocked Jayden Baez, in his parking spot, then fired as he rammed their vehicles trying to flee. A grand jury cleared the deputies of criminal charges, but said in its report said the killing should not have happened and could have been avoided if the agency had better policies on the use of appropriate force in response to minor crimes. Lopez was asked to testify before the grand jury but declined to do so. A subsequent lawsuit filed by the victim's family accused Lopez of fostering 'an agency-wide culture of escalating minor criminal offenses into violent and deadly scenes.' At that time, attorney Mark NeJame, who represented Baez's family, sent a letter to state and federal officials accusing the sheriff's office of corruption, alleging protectionism and cover-ups. Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell, following her suspension from office by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in August 2023, confirmed to the Daily Beast that she had begun a public corruption probe into the sheriff's office's handling of several cases, which was sparked by discrepancies found in reports filed after Baez's killing. 'As we were investigating, there was all sorts of illegal activity that started coming up: officers signing each other's reports, getting them notarized in someone else's name when they signed them themselves, fraudulent documents,' Worrell told the Beast. In early 2024, Lopez posted a photo of the dead body of Madeline Soto, the 13-year-old girl whose killing shocked Central Florida, on his Instagram page. Lopez initially publicly denied the photo was of the teenager but later told state investigators he knew it was Madeline. The State Attorney's Office filed a summons against Lopez accusing him of violating public records laws in posting the photo, but prosecutors stopped short of accusing Lopez of criminal charges. Lopez pleaded no contest and agreed to pay a $250 fine, according to a court filing. Andrew Bain, the state attorney at the time, then placed Lopez on an official list of law enforcement officers deemed untrustworthy — also known as a Brady list — in a highly unusual rebuke of a sitting sheriff. In July 2024, a fired sheriff's office employee said Lopez received a nude photo of a female civilian employee at the agency from a fired deputy and made a vulgar comment about wanting to have sex with her, according to what appeared to be a screenshot of a text conversation between the two men.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Spartanburgers fall in Greensboro
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Yeison Morrobel gave the Spartanburgers a one-run lead in the sixth inning of Tuesday's series opener between Hub City (27-25) and the Greensboro Grasshoppers (35-16). After five strong innings from Spartanburgers starter Leandro Lopez (L, 2-4), Greensboro responded with a home run as part of a four-run sixth of their own. That was all the scoring in the contest; the Grasshoppers claimed game one by three. The Spartanburgers threatened starter Carlos Jimenez in the first. A walk followed by a Keith Jones II double had two runners in scoring position, but Hub City failed to capitalize. Jimenez struck out the side in order in the second to finish his day. Lopez got off to a great start on the mound for the 'Burgers. After a four-pitch walk to begin the first, Lopez retired the next eight batters he faced, including a double play to face the minimum through three innings. Lopez ran into some trouble after the first two reached in the fourth on a walk and a single. Another double play helped Lopez keep the contest scoreless. The Spartanburgers stranded five runners in scoring position through the first five innings. Against Hunter Furtado (W, 4-0) in the sixth, Hub City changed its fortunes. After a one-out walk to Jones, he stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error. With two outs, Morrobel yanked an RBI single through the right side to give the Spartanburgers their first win. Lopez allowed the first two batters for Greensboro to reach again in the bottom of the sixth. A walk and double had two runners in scoring position. The Spartanburgers got the first out on a fielder's choice at the plate that erased Justin Miknis, the lead runner. Duce Gourson followed up with an opposite-field home run that ended the day for Lopez. Anthony Susac entered and gave up one more run on a Javier Rivas double and Omar Alfonzo single. Susac and Victor Simeon tossed scoreless frames respectively in the seventh and eighth. The 'Burgers bats could not heat up in the final three frames. Despite three walks in that span, Hub City could not manage a hit. Former MLB reliever Beau Burrows (S, 1) tallied the final three outs with a pair of strikeouts. Greensboro and Hub City return early to the ballpark tomorrow. The Spartanburgers send RHP Aidan Curry (1-1, 6.31 ERA) to face off against RHP Antwone Kelly (1-0, 3.66 ERA) for the Grasshoppers. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. ET. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
