Armenian Genocide Memorial to Be Unveiled at Scottsdale Community College

A memorial to those killed in the Armenian Genocide of the early 20th century will be unveiled Friday, April 24, at Scottsdale Community College.

The circular memorial was sculpted by Armenian artist Gaspar Gharibyan out of "tufa" stone, the traditional Armenian building material. It was gifted to the college by Arizona's Armenian community and the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church, according to a news release from St. Apkar Armenian Apostolic Church in Scottsdale. The church says the monument is dedicated to "all genocide and holocaust martyrs."

As SCC is on Native American land, the monument combines Native American elements and symbols with traditional Armenian symbols. It's inscribed with the words "Not On Our Watch," the motto of SCC's Genocide Awareness Program. The video above shows Gharibyan working on the memorial.

The public unveiling at the college, 9000 E. Chaparral Road, is scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday, the centennial of the generally accepted start date of the Armenian Genocide.

While historical figures vary, scholars believe between 1 million and 1.5 million Armenians were massacred by the Ottoman Empire in present-day Turkey.