Husi Cazares, an enrolled member of the Tohono O’odham Nation, grew up insouthern Arizona and has devoted his life to teaching and preserving his people’sculture, history, and language. He has taught Tohono O’odham culture as well asNative American history and culture at several colleges and universities. Husiholds an M.A. in Native American Studies from the University of Arizona and anM.S. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Saint Xavier University inChicago, Illinois. Husi is currently working as a trilingual speech-languagepathologist in southern Arizona where he just received a national 2026 Hero ofthe Year award from his employer, Bayada Home Health Care.
He remains deeply involved in language preservation and literacy initiatives withinhis tribe. He continues to write bilingual Tohono O’odham books for children andis currently working on an illustrated, bilingual, Tohono O’odham/Englishdictionary which will be available from Desert Ink Press in 2026.
This book familiarizes people with an intro to not only animals in the Sonoran Desert, but also to bilingual text in Tohono O’odham and English. Each page has a drawing of a desert animal and a bilingual sentence to go with it.
This bilingual book introduces common words and colors and allows them to match O’odham words, colors, and concepts. Each page features a color word with a corresponding picture of common O’odham vocabulary words. This colorful and vibrant book is a fun way to fortify colors and common words in both O’odham and English.
This bilingual book introduces common words and numbers and allows the reader to match O’odham words to objects, and numbers. Each page features a number word with a corresponding pictures and both O'odham / English sentences.
A young boy from the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation talks about his love of waila music. The boy shares how he was introduced to waila music, the history of the music style, and the components of waila music. Aspects of Tohono O'odham celebrations and culture in conjunction with waila music is presented.
Introduce children to the O’odham alphabet with 24 colorful letters and 8 fun images per letter. Familiar objects and cultural scenes make learning meaningful, while a glossary and pronunciation guide help readers explore O’odham language and culture. Perfect for young learners, families, and classrooms.
