Akimel O’odham/Pee Posh Youth Council Host Pee Posh Bingo in District 7

Kyle Knox
Gila River Indian News

A new and unique way of language education was on display as 50 Community members who attended the District 7 Pee Posh Bingo event on Tuesday, June 4 at the District 7 Service Center. The event, coordinated by current and former members of the Akimel O’odham/Pee Posh Youth Council, Angel Molina, David Romero, and Angel Ortiz.  Similar events are held to teach new vocabulary or become familiar with the given language used for the game. In this case, the wording was in Pee Posh.

Angel Molina, District 7 Youth Council Rep. and Secretary, lead the charge for this event after experiencing the O’otham Bingo that the Huhugam Heritage Center hosts.  Through this event, Molina said, “she hopes to expose the language and culture more since it’s not always open with activities as the O’otham language.” Her initial reactions when explaining the event to the Community was surprising as “everyone seemed shocked.”  

The game is set up like regular bingo except it utilizes Pee Posh color names for the top row in place of B-I-N-G-O. The numbers in the column, substituted for items announced in the Pee Posh language. For this event, the vocabulary words focused on food items. For example, former youth council representative Angel Ortiz served as a caller and would call Qwesm/ Mariik (Yellow/ Orange and Beans). If players have the beans in their yellow/orange column, then it’s covered with a seed. Varied patterns apply for winners depending on the game, including a single row, four corners, and blackout.

Members of the District 7 youth program attended in addition to elders from the Community. Those elders enjoyed the event and would like to see a version with small phrases used in place of food words.  

Though this was the first Pee Posh Bingo event held in the district, many hope for regular games. The youth organizers attribute the success of the game to the support of the Youth Council and their advisor Mikhail Sundust. David Romero also expressed that the District 7 elders, “strongly supported the event by providing the bingo cards and vocabulary words for the day’s event.”