'Analy Nyuwiich: The Mesquite Tree

Mojave | Beginning | Intermediate | High School | iOS | Remote Play

'Analy Nyuwiich was designed by Mojave educators, a Mojave elder who acted as language informant, and the Partnerships team at University of Arizona's Center for Educational Resources in Culture, Language, and Literacy (CERCLL). The game takes place around the charter school in Ft. Mojave, Arizona where Mojave culture and language are being taught to teens. The game is an interactive story, in that players follow the story in a set sequence and interact with various things in the environment. The game is designed to be played as a supplement to a Mojave culture and language learning unit based around the mesquite tree. The mesquite is central to Mojave culture because of its utility and versatility. The objective of the game is to learn about several different uses of the tree and to learn basic vocabulary around it. The game starts with an invitation to visit Grandfather, Napaw, who is outside the school. He tells the player, who is voiced by one of the game creators, that she needs to go and collect things from a nearby mesquite tree and bring them to various family members. Once at the geotagged mesquite tree on the school grounds, virtual items are triggered to appear on the player’s phone and become “collectable” by clicking on them. The player learns about the various items (beans, sap, and leaves) while “collecting” them. On the way back to the school, the players encounter various family members who need the items for different purposes, as well as a coyote who wants the beans. The player ‘gives’ the items to the characters, and after returning to Napaw, learns lessons about how the mesquite tree provides sustenance and shares itself with everybody.

Developed By:

John Reinhardt, Susan Penfield, Chris Holden, Natalie Diaz, Kathy Castillo