Tesuque Pueblo members have a place to grow — a place to join together in various social, recreational, wellness and spiritual aspects.
The Taytsugeh Oweengeh Intergenerational Center, which opened last November, cost
$4.6 million to build and offers all tribal members an array of activities, from a senior center with diabetes and nutrition programs to a full gymnasium, weight room and recreation area as well as an after-school program for the youth.
“The center was built to promote health and fitness, and to bring the communities together,” said Dolly Narang, the center’s executive director.
About 40 to 45 people use the facilities daily, but she would like to see more people from the community take advantage of the center. This 23,000-square-foot building, visible from U.S. 84/285, was built using profits from Tesuque’s Camel Rock Casino.
The center is open to Tesuque tribal members and employees. And programs such as basketball and volleyball leagues that could bring in more people, including nontribal members, have been discussed.
Francisco Garcia, a personal trainer and sports specialist, hopes to organize some of these leagues, possibly in a month. “It’s a beautiful facility that we have here,” Garcia said. “They are making big leaps and bounds. It has a lot to offer here.”
“Hopefully, more people here will take advantage of this,” he added.
Garcia said his job includes giving people personal fitness plans and diets to keep them healthy and to give them “a sense of pride.”
One of the most important programs at the center is its Diabetes Prevention Program, where people are screened for high blood-sugar levels and educated about diabetes, he said. Then they are directed toward a diet and fitness program to help control the disease.
Diabetes is the fifth deadliest disease in the United States and has reached epidemic proportions among Indians, according to the American Diabetes Association.
While exercise is stressed, Narang said, the center is also planning to construct a hydrotherapy pool and treatment area. She said hydrotherapy is the use of water to treat certain diseases, specifically diabetes and arthritis. “Hot-water treatment really improves strength, flexibility and the range of motion,” she added.
Narang hopes construction on the new unit will be completed by the end of the year. The pueblo also received a portion of the funding for the construction project from the Legislature.
Meanwhile, the center’s senior nutrition program provides elders 55 and older an opportunity to eat free nutritious breakfasts and lunches. Narang said the center monitors the seniors’ eating abilities and brings them into a social environment that enhances their food intake. The center also provides transportation to and from the center for these individuals.
Besides the senior program, the learning and resource center allows students to use its computers after school and to work with tutors on homework.
Before the center was built, Narang said, some of the pueblo’s youth had no place to go afterschool or on weekends. With the center, they “maintain relationships and work together,” she said.
A teen night is held each Tuesday evening, and the pueblo’s youth organize dances and other fitness activities.
Also, on May 11, a Women’s Health Day is scheduled at the center. In addition, the center is organizing a Just Move It campaign, which will encourage people to walk for exercise.
In September, the second annual Camel Rock Run is scheduled.
(Sidebar)
The center is open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., on Fridays from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The center is closed on Sundays. For more information, call 955-7773.
To get more information on upcoming basketball or volleyball leagues, call Francisco Garcia at 955-7785.
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