Phoenix Indian Center

The center provides many apolitical services, such as hosting job fairs, native language classes, and suicide prevention workshops. ⁴ However, the center and its leadership have also engaged in political activities. In the weeks before the 2020 election, the Phoenix Indian Center financed multiple get out the vote events geared toward Navajo voters. ^{5 6} Recently, the Phoenix Indian Center publicly supported the American Rescue Plan proposed by President Joe Biden. ⁷

The Phoenix Indian Center also jointly owns the Native American Community Service Center along with the organization Native American Connections. The two organizations own the property through NAC 4520 N Central LLC, a 501(c)(3). The building has space for events as well as for Native American vendors of art and jewelry. ⁸ The Phoenix Indian Center invests regularly in the LLC, and in 2019 the LLC possessed total assets worth $8,891,940. ⁹

Founding and History

The Phoenix Indian Center was formed in 1947 by Leon Grant, a member of the Omaha tribe. The population of Native Americans in urban Phoenix was rising due to economic opportunities and U.S. government policy. ¹⁰  Grant conceived of the center as a way to help connect Native Americans in Phoenix with jobs, housing, and basic necessities. ¹ The population of Native Americans in and around Phoenix gradually increased to over 125,000, and the Phoenix Indian Center became the oldest continuing American Indian center in the United States. ¹⁰

The center has provided services geared toward the Native American population in Phoenix. These services include cultural preservation, such as Navajo language classes. ¹¹ More generally, the center also hosts job fairs and provides information about career training opportunities. ⁴ The center also hosts events about substance abuse and suicide prevention. ¹²

In 2005, the Phoenix Indian Center partnered with Native American Connections to purchase the Native American Community Service Center. The service center has space for events as well as for Native American vendors to sell their art and jewelry. The two organizations own the property through the NAC 4520 N Central LLC, a 501(c)(3). According to tax documents, the LLC supports Native American Connections and the Phoenix Indian Center by “investing in and holding property for their use and benefit.” The Phoenix Indian Center invests regularly in the LLC, and in 2019 the LLC possessed total assets worth $8,891,940. ¹³ Native American Connections is a 501(c)(3), and it does work similar to the Phoenix Indian Center, but it also engages in government advocacy. ¹⁴

According to tax documents, the Phoenix Indian Center receives the vast majority of its funding through grants from the federal government and from the state of Arizona. Notable providers of grants include the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Centers for Disease Control, the Executive Office of the State of Arizona, and the Arizona Department of Education. ² The Phoenix Indian Center received $2,875,764 from government grants in 2018, 99.7% of its total revenue. ³

Advocacy Activity

The center has also engaged in advocacy activities since the early 2000s, when Dr. Leland Leonard, CEO of the Phoenix Indian Center, engaged in “community mobilization” regarding “economic, health, and political issues to benefit urban Indians.” ¹⁵ More recently, in 2019 under CEO Patricia Hibbeler, the center encouraged Native Americans to respond to the U.S. Census. ^{16 17} Before the 2020 election, the center funded multiple get out the vote events. ^{5 6} In 2021, the Phoenix Indian Center publicly supported President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. ⁷

Patricia Hibbeler has also weighed in on multiple political issues as the CEO of the Phoenix Indian Center. Hibbeler supported changing the name of a street named for a Confederate general. ¹⁸ Hibbeler also served on the Public Safety Advisory Task Force for Tempe, Arizona, a city directly adjacent to Phoenix. ¹⁹ In 2018, Hibbeler received $107,410 in compensation for her work as CEO.