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A skateboarding destination in Arizona runs through the Hopi Reservation

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

In the village of Tewa, Ariz., kids are dropping in on the half-pipe at a new skate park.

(SOUNDBITE OF SKATEBOARDING)

MARTIN: It's all thanks to Quintin Nahsonhoya and his friends.

QUINTIN NAHSONHOYA: There wasn't really any place to skate down here. Most of the surrounding areas is just dirt and rocks.

A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:

So when the pandemic began and outdoor activity took on new life, the teens got together to start what they called Skate264.

NAHSONHOYA: The highway 264 is what goes through all the Hopi Reservation.

MARTÍNEZ: The idea - to build a safe space for skaters regardless of age or skill.

NAHSONHOYA: We saw a whole bunch of skaters that were just, like, skating on those little makeshift parks, you know, at the basketball courts or on the road or at hospitals or schools - just anywhere that had concrete, pretty much. So we thought it would be a good idea to bring a skate park out to Hopi just because we didn't want anybody getting hurt or in trouble getting into places they shouldn't be trying to skate.

MARTIN: Seventeen-year-old Quintin got the idea after he started skating two years ago. On a trip through Navajo Country, he saw other kids with a better skating scene.

NAHSONHOYA: There's some tribes around Phoenix, too, who have gotten some pretty good parks. Whenever I would go to that part of the country, I would see their skate parks and then I would come back to my reservation. And then there would be nothing here. I thought that was kind of unfair.

MARTÍNEZ: The Hopi community rallied behind the teens, and with fundraisers, sponsorships and merchandise sales, they finally had enough money to build their park and fulfill a dream to bring positive change to the Hopi community.

(SOUNDBITE OF INSTRUMENTAL HEAT'S "KICK PUSH (KARAOKE)") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.