Native American cultures sit in stark contrast to contemporary metropolitan life in the US. Most communities are small. Families have lived with each other for many generations. There is a "history" between the people in an area. These relationships are the foundations of the richness of Native American society.


Our service projects are long enough to allow you time to "feel" what it is like to live in a pueblo or on a remote farm. You adjust to a different pace of life and learn to appreciate people with views that are different from your own. In the end, you learn that you can build bridges of friendship and understanding by simply lending someone your hand.


The Navajo Nation is the largest sovereign nation within the U.S. Traditionally the Navajo were farmers and ranchers. Today, the Navajo Nation is progressively moving towards modernization while incorporating their traditional heritage. Deer Hill service projects in the Navajo Nation can take you to small communities or rural ranches. We set up our tents and kitchen in our host's yard. Together, we work on projects that are important to them. In the past we have painted homes and community buildings, built livestock fences and sheds, rechinked a hogan (plastered the walls of a traditional Navajo dwelling with adobe), cut and delivered firewood to the elderly, and worked in elementary and primary schools.


Each evening we gather with our hosts, cooking and eating together, sharing stories and laughter of the day's events. When appropriate, we attend ceremonial gatherings and celebrations. We visit nearby trading posts and towns for a glimpse of other aspects of the daily lives of these gentle people. A weaver, sand painter, or leather worker may show us how to make a personal souvenir of local materials to remind us of our days in Navajoland.


The Hopi live on three separate mesas that rise from the floor of the northern Arizona desert. Life in a pueblo community, where houses of adobe sit side-by-side, at times, is bustling with activity since there is little privacy in such closely-knit quarters. Your Deer Hill group breaks into smaller groups of one Deer Hill leader and four participants to stay with different hosts. Each day, we regroup and set out to our project site. In the past, we have built or repaired traditional ovens in which breads are baked for ceremonial purposes. We have helped a Hopi youth group reconstruct a retaining wall of the ceremonial plaza. Through service, you get to talk and laugh with Hopi teenagers. They dress and listen to the same music as most teenagers. With a relationship developed from a day's work, you are invited into homes and to ceremonies seldom attended by anyone outside of their community. You have opened a door to a new world and you are richly rewarded.


The Zuni pueblo is one of the most traditional and secretive societies in North America. Deer Hill is the only teen program allowed to live and work in the Zuni Nation. The small Zuni Nation has achieved a balance between traditional and contemporary lifestyles. Children are taught to speak Zuni in school, Zuni religious elders still make decisions affecting the pueblo, and Kachina dances are held frequently. With Deer Hill, you cook, sleep and shower at the Zuni Youth Center. Each day, you work on various projects around town. In the past, we have helped maintain irrigation projects, built and restored bread ovens, and in 2003, planted over 20,000 seedlings in an area with deep religious meaning for the tribe. A visit to the eagle aviary, which supplies Native American people with molted eagle feathers for ceremonial purposes is a highlight of your stay in Zuni.


Deer Hill has developed a special relationship with the Ute Mountain Ute tribe in the far southwest corner of Colorado. Located less than one hour from Basecamp, the Ute Mountain Ute Nation oversees one of the richest archeological preserves in the U.S. The Ute Tribal Park, adjacent to Mesa Verde National Park, offers a visitor an unparalleled view of the cliff dwelling people who once inhabited this area. These ruins are maintained in their natural condition. Potsherds, small corncobs, turkey feathers, and arrowheads are scattered in the rooms and along the pathways that Deer Hill groups have helped build and maintain over the years. We assist the park's crew to build shade structures, maintain or build trails, and paint picnic tables throughout the park. On the final day of our stay, we are treated to a guided tour of the most spectacular cliff dwellings in the world.