Phoenix College Welcomes Peterson Zah

Peterson Zah is the former President of the Navajo Nation and a Alumnus of Phoenix College. He will be at Phoenix College to discuss:

Topic: "Socio-Cultural Trends in Indian Country"

Date: Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Time: 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM

Location: Willo Room, Osborn Campus, 11th Avenue & Flower

Peterson Zah was born in 1937 and raised in the middle of the Navajo Reservation at remote Low Mountain, AZ. He left his home and family in 1953 to attend the Phoenix Indian School, later enrolling at Phoenix College and finally ASU, where he earned a bachelor's degree in education in 1963. He returned to his homeland as a vocational educator, teaching Navajo adults the essentials of the carpentry trade, and then as a field coordinator for VISTA Indian Training Center at Arizona State University. Quickly proving his leadership abilities, he is co-founder and later became executive director of DNA-People's Legal Services, a non profit legal services programs, and championed native rights.

In 1982, Zah was elected Chairman of the Navajo Tribal Council. In 1990, under a new tribal government, Peterson Zah was elected the first president of the Navajo Nation, leading the movement to restructure and modernize their governmental system from a council to a nation. He received an Honorary Doctoral Degree of Humane Letters from Arizona State University in 2005. He is also the 2008 recipient of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Servant Leadership Award.