Zuni, New Mexico

Delapna:we Project

Problem

Older and younger people rarely spend time together. Elders feel sidelined; youth feel unheard. Local knowledge slips away.

Solution

The Delapna:we Project is an annual winter storytelling production in Zuni Pueblo run since the 2018-19 season by Ho'n A:wan Productions, a collaboration of the Zuni Youth Enrichment Project (ZYEP, founded 2009), the A:shiwi A:wan Museum and Heritage Center, Edaakie Arts, ShiwiSun Productions, the Zuni Public Library, KSHI radio and community members. Casts of roughly 21 to 27 people aged about 6 to 56 adapt traditional Zuni stories from 1960s Doris Duke-funded audio recordings of 19 elders into live theater (2019, 2020, 2024, 2025, 2026), animation (2021), a film (2022) and a multi-format season (2023); the eighth season in February 2026 reached about 450 people in person and online.

Patterns used: Intergenerational Wisdom Exchange

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