Tucson city officials are debating whether to rename Christopher Columbus Park after Danny Lopez. Lopez was a respected Tohono O'odham educator who spent his life preserving and sharing his people's culture.
The effort is being led by Lopez’s family and local advocates, and it's sparking a wider conversation about how public spaces should reflect the communities they serve.
Lopez spent over 30 years teaching Himdag—the traditional way of life for the Tohono O’odham people. He was deeply committed to his community, dedicating his life to ensuring future generations understood and cherished their traditions. Advocates like Azul Navarrete-Valera, with Tucson’s Native Youth Council, are calling on the city officials to rename Christopher Columbus Park in his honor.
“Everything should have a purpose, right?” Navarrete-Valera said.
The park’s current namesake, Christopher Columbus, has become increasingly controversial. For many tribal members, his name represents cultural erasure, forced assimilation, and genocide.
“Naming it after this activist, this educator who is O’odham is in a way, re-indigenizing that space again, and it's making it welcoming to those who didn't feel welcomed,” Navarrete-Valera said.
She believes Lopez was a natural choice for the park’s new namesake.
“What he really shared with the community is to be proud of who you are and to use your education for preserving and also passing on his culture,” she said.
Kevin Dahl, Tucson’s Ward 3 Councilmember, remembers first hearing Danny Lopez on AZPM–known at the time as KUAT radio–in the late 1970s and early 1980s, hosting a show primarily in the O’odham language.
“Danny Lopez was the nicest man you could ever meet,” Dahl said. “He was a teacher. He went beyond teaching Tohono O’odham people. He interpreted Tohono O’odham for us in the community.”
Lopez taught native students of all ages, from primary school to community college. His passion for teaching was deeply personal. As he once said, “I feel that I owe it to my people to share my knowledge and to give back to what was so graciously given to me.”
His impact extended beyond the Tohono O’odham community. He often included non-tribal individuals in traditional customs, like Dahl.
“I’ll always remember when we got, at that time, our new farm in Patagonia to grow out the seeds,” Dahl recalled. “He was there. They had a big celebration, and he led us in a dance. My father was visiting, and it’s the only memory I have of seeing him dancing in a social, circular dance.”
Dahl is not the only one to have similar memories of Lopez. Tristan Reader, a friend of Lopez, remembered when he witnessed Lopez conduct a blessing.
“He gathered everyone into a circle, and he held up the eagle feathers that he used for his blessings and the burning sage. He said, ‘You don't need me to do a blessing,’ and he handed them to one person in the circle and said, ‘Turn and you bless the person next to you. Be a blessing to the others.’”
The park, originally named Silverbell Park, became Christopher Columbus Park in the 1990s after the Knights of Columbus dedicated it to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage. Some members of the group still want the name to remain.
But others, like Reader, see this renaming as a way to acknowledge history and celebrate a figure who represents inclusion and resilience.
“To me, if we're going to honor somebody, which is the naming of a park, that's who I think we should honor,” he said. “It’s not about erasing history, it's about choosing who we hold up as worthy of honor.”
The renaming of the park has come to represent something bigger—a conversation about how public spaces can reflect the values and identities of the communities they serve, including people like Navarrete-Valera.
“This is not just about taking down the name. This is finally native youths voices being listened to.”
The renaming of the park is expected to be finalized later this year.
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