The saguaro cactus is the iconic plant of the Arizona borderlands, and in June and early July, its fruit ripens.

The saguaro cactus is the iconic plant of the Arizona borderlands, and in June and early July, its fruit ripens.

The history of encounters between Catholicism and Native spirituality has often been marred by violence and oppression ...

The saguaro cactus is the iconic plant of the Arizona borderlands, and in June and early July, its thorn-covered small fruit ...

The saguaro cactus is the iconic plant of the Arizona borderlands, and in June and early July, its fruit ripens.

Tanisha Tucker Lohse, of the Tohono Oʼodham nation, picks a ripe saguaro cactus fruit during a harvest day in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Monday, June 23, 2025.

But many members of the Tohono O’odham Nation hold onto both faith traditions as they were passed down since the late 17th century, when an Italian-born Jesuit missionary, the Rev. Eusebio Kino ...

Tanisha Tucker Lohse, of the Tohono Oʼodham nation, picks a ripe saguaro cactus fruit during a harvest day in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Monday, June 23, 2025.