Steele Indian School Park
Encyclopedia
Steele Indian School Park is located on the northeast corner of Indian School Road and Central Avenue in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...

.

The park is on the site of the Phoenix Indian School
Phoenix Indian School
The Phoenix Indian School, or Phoenix Indian High School in its later years, was a Bureau of Indian Affairs-operated school in the heart of Phoenix, Arizona. It was mostly a high school, but it served lower grades from 1891 to 1935. It opened in 1891 and closed in 1990 at the orders of the federal...

, one of several boarding schools owned and operated by the U.S. government, designed in the late 19th century to socialize and assimilate Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

s into the dominant Euro-American socio-cultural system. These schools became controversial in later decades for the alleged mistreatment of their students, as well as the suppression and prohibition of the students' indigenous culture and languages. The Phoenix school began operations on the site in 1892. In the late 1980s it was declared unnecessary as most Native students attended schools either in the general community, or on their own reservations, by this time; also, the land on which the school was built, now part of a busy commercial district in Central Phoenix, was much too financially valuable by this time to justify the school's continued operation. After the school shut down for good in 1990, the buildings and grounds sat vacant for a few years.

Indian School Road, on which the former school and the current park sits, is a major arterial street connecting Phoenix and its western suburbs, such as Tolleson
Tolleson, Arizona
Tolleson is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 6,812.-Geography:Tolleson is located at ....

 and Litchfield Park
Litchfield Park, Arizona
Litchfield Park is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. In 2010 it had a population of 5,476.-History:The town of Litchfield Park is named for its founder, Paul Weeks Litchfield...

, with Scottsdale
Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385...

 and the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
The Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community comprises two distinct Native American tribes—the Pima and the Maricopa —many of whom were originally of the Halchidhoma tribe. The community was officially created by an Executive Order of US President Rutherford B. Hayes on June 14, 1879...

 to the east; it is presumably named for the school.

The city of Phoenix obtained the land in 1996 through an intricate three-way land exchange involving the Florida-based Barron Collier Company and the federal government (the Bank of America Tower
Bank of America Tower (Phoenix)
The Bank of America Tower is a highrise in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. The tower is the centerpiece of the Collier Center, a multi-use office and entertainment complex. The tower was completed in 2000 and serves as the state headquarters for Bank of America. It rises 360 feet , topping out at 23...

 was built in the late 1990s in downtown Phoenix by a partnership between Barron Collier Company and Opus West Corporation on land acquired in the exchange). At the time, Barron Collier Company also established a $35 million trust fund for the education of Native children in Arizona. The park is named after Horace C. Steele, a local businessman and philanthropist; his charitable foundation donated $2.5 million dollars to start development of the park. The park opened in late 2001.
Some of the buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 and are being renovated; some of the alumni of the school want to use a few of these buildings as museum space documenting the school's history, as well as for a more general Native American cultural center.

The park is the site of an exhibition of Native American arts and crafts organized by the Pueblo Grande Museum
Pueblo Grande Ruin and Irrigation Sites
Pueblo Grande Ruin and Irrigation Sites is a site in Arizona that is significant for its association with Native American history. It is believed that this area was settled around 450 AD...

 and the Arizona Indian Festival. The city of Phoenix has held its annual Fourth of July fireworks display at the park for several years.

In 2007, the park was the site of a nationally-covered accident
2007 Phoenix news helicopter collision
The 2007 Phoenix news helicopter collision occurred on July 27, 2007 at exactly 12:46:20 P.M. MST when two AS-350 AStar helicopters from KNXV-TV and KTVK news stations collided in mid-air above Steele Indian School Park in Phoenix, Arizona while covering a police pursuit...

 involving two television news helicopters that killed the occupants of both aircraft.

The park is open 364 days a year, and offers ponds to fish. It is served by the Indian School station on the METRO Light Rail
METRO Light Rail (Phoenix)
Metro Light Rail is a 32 km light rail line operating in the U.S. state of Arizona. Part of the Valley Metro public transit system, it serves the cities of Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa. Construction began in March 2005; operation started December 27, 2008...

system.
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