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84-802: The area took its name from the Pima and closely related O'odham ( Papago ) peoples residing in the Sonoran Desert . Pimería Alta was the site of the Spanish missions in the Sonoran Desert established by the Jesuit missionary Eusebio Kino in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. A significant Pima rebellion against Spanish rule occurred in 1751. The term Pimería Alta first appeared in Spanish colonial documents (especially produced by those in

168-489: A certain degree of autonomy within the colonial structure. This fact is also significant since, while Jesuit missionaries were the administrators of indigenous lands, they were not the legal proprietors. Under the mission structure, these lands were still legally tied to the indigenous peoples of the mission. The Jesuit missions of the Pimeria Alta functioned as a fundamental part of Spanish settlement and colonization in

252-536: A council representing individual subgovernments. It is self-governed by an elected Governor (currently Gregory Mendoza ), Lieutenant Governor (currently Stephen Roe-Lewis ) and 18-member Tribal Council. The council is elected by district with the number of electees determined by district population. There are more than 19,000 enrolled members overall. The Gila River Indian Community is involved in various economic development enterprises that provide entertainment and recreation: three gaming casinos, associated golf courses,

336-544: A decline in physical activity. For comparison, genetically similar O'odham in Mexico have only a slighter higher prevalence of type 2 diabetes than non-O'odham Mexicans. Personal names are particularly important in Akimel O'odham society. From age ten until the time of marriage, neither boys nor girls were allowed to speak their own names out loud. Doing so can invoke bad luck to the children and their future. Similarly, people in

420-599: A division of the Akimel O'odham – "River People"), the Maricopa of Lehi (call themselves Xalychidom Piipaa or Xalychidom Piipaash – "People who live toward the water", descendants of the refugee Halchidhoma ), the Tohono O'odham ("Desert People") and some Keli Akimel O'odham (also Keli Akimel Au-Authm – "Gila River People", another division of the Akimel O'odham – "River People"). The Ak-Chin Indian Community

504-477: A division of the Akimel O'odham – "River People"). The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community is smaller in size. It also has a government of an elected President and tribal council. They operate tribal gaming, industrial projects, landfills and construction supply. The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community ( SRPMIC ) is home of the Onk Akimel O'odham (also On'k Akimel Au-Authm – "Salt River People",

588-564: A fundamental component. In the region, a total of 8 presidios were established during the colonial period as a direct response to raids by the Apache and Seris in the region. These presidios often served as a precursor to permanent settlements (as was the case with the Presidio San Agustín del Tucson ). An example of an account depicting such a military expedition is from a campaign journal written by Spanish commanders embarking on

672-569: A los ópatas, pues solo su número suele a veces infundirles osadía y atrevimiento, lo que se ha visto claramente en su último ya varias veces citado alzamiento de 1751, cuando primero solo se defendieron solo diez hombres, y de estos la mitad sin saber manejar las armas con acierto, de todo su gran numero, y porfiada rabia con que quisieron beberles la sangre, y a los padres Jacobo Sedelmayr y padre rector Juan Nentuig asaltaron por dos días la casa del misionero de Tubutama, hasta dejarla con su nueva y bien alhajada iglesia reducida en cenizas... Translated,

756-417: A luxury resort, and a western-themed amusement park. In addition, they manage various industrial parks, landfills, and construction supply. The GRIC is also involved in agriculture and runs its own farms and other agricultural projects. The Gila River Indian Reservation is home of Maricopa ( Piipaa, Piipaash or Pee-Posh – "People") and Keli Akimel O'odham (also Keli Akimel Au-Authm – "Gila River People",

840-598: A military expedition against the Pimas in the Pimería Alta for four months in 1695: From the mountain peaks they are able to do whatever they wish, and the Spaniards are unable to punish them because the rebels have united for this purpose on these fronteirs and those of Sonora. We have seen the pride of these tribes [Janos, Jocomes, Mansos, Sumas, Chinarras , Apaches], and we have also seen that due to their instigation

924-440: A network of over a dozen missions in the region, not all of which are solely attributable to him (see Spanish missions in the Sonoran Desert ). The missions of the Pimería Alta had several functions. While proselytizing to indigenous people was one, it also served as a place where the previously nomadic people of the region were settled into sedentary, agricultural lifestyles and became influenced by Spanish religion and culture, at

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1008-541: A relative degree of autonomy from Spanish authorities. When these policies failed, the Mexican state often used deportations of indigenous peoples of the region (see Yaqui Wars ) to other parts of the country as a last response to resistance. This response by the Mexican government was coupled with active military aggression. Only in the early 20th century did Mexican government policy shift to include more co-operational approaches to indigenous communities, shifting away from

1092-681: A side note, at times during the monsoon season the Salt River runs, albeit at low levels. In the weeks after December 29, 2004, when an unexpected winter rainstorm flooded areas much further upstream (in Northern Arizona), water was released through dams on the river at rates higher than at any time since the filling of Tempe Town Lake in 1998, and was a cause for minor celebration in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community . The diversion of

1176-610: A tribe. In addition, they have developed several profitable enterprises in fields such as agriculture and telecommunications, and built several gaming casinos to generate revenues. They have begun to construct a water delivery system across the reservation in order to revive their farming economy. The Akimel O'odham ("River People") have lived on the banks of the Gila and Salt Rivers since long before European contact. Their way of life ( himdagĭ , sometimes rendered in English as Him-dag )

1260-636: Is covered with these mats, thick enough to resist the weather, Inside, they have only a petate on which to sleep, and gourds in which to carry and store water. Spanish missions in the Sonoran Desert The Spanish missions in the Sonoran Desert ( Spanish : Misiones jesuíticas en el desierto de Sonora ) are a series of Jesuit Catholic religious outposts established by the Spanish Catholic Jesuits and other orders for religious conversions of

1344-466: Is evidence that those in the region also participated in trade networks that spanned hundreds of kilometers. For instance, evidence indicates trade initiating in the region was done as far west as the Gulf of California and as far south as Central Mexico. Items traded included (but were not limited to) copper bells, precious stones, and shells. Besides settlement of the region by the ancestors of groups such as

1428-635: Is important to reflect on the differences brought about during both the Mexican independence period and the US after the Gadsden Purchase . As scholar Edward H. Spencer has articulated, Mexican government policies towards indigenous peoples in the region could be grouped into three categories, all of which had as their primary goal assimilation of indigenous people into Mexican society. The first involved granting of Mexican citizenship, which both hypothetically granted political rights to indigenous peoples of

1512-477: Is in the fear expressed by many Spaniards – missionaries, colonists, and military men alike – of Apache raids throughout the time period. These raids, along with occasional revolts by the Pima , made the region a hostile place for Spanish colonization. In the words of a Spanish traveler recounting his observations of the region during the second half of the 18th century: En el valor son todos los pimas muy inferiores

1596-586: Is located in the Santa Cruz Valley in Arizona. The community is composed mainly of Ak-Chin O'odham ( Ak-Chin Au-Authm , also called Pima , another division of the Akimel O'odham – "River People") and Tohono O'odham, as well as some Yoeme . As of 2000, the population living in the community was 742. Ak-Chin is an O'odham word that means the "mouth of the arroyo" or "place where the wash loses itself in

1680-685: The Ak-Chin Indian Community ( Ak-Chin O'odham ); and the Tohono O'odham Nation ( Tohono O'odham – "Desert People"). The remaining band, the Hia C-ed O'odham ("Sand Dune People"), are not federally recognized, but reside throughout southwestern Arizona. Today the GRIC is a sovereign tribe residing on more than 550,000 acres (2,200 km ) of land in central Arizona. The community is divided into seven districts (similar to states) with

1764-677: The California Gold Rush began, drawing Americans to travel to California through the Mexican territory between Mesilla and the Colorado River crossings near Yuma , on what became known as the Southern Emigrant Trail . Travelers used the villages of the Akimel Oʼodham as oases to recover from the crossing of unfamiliar deserts. They also bought new supplies and livestock to support the journey across

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1848-536: The Catholic Church ) to designate an ethno-territorial expanse that spanned much of what is now southern Arizona and northern Sonora. The term derives from the name of the Pima indigenous peoples native to the region. This term, along with the term ‘Pimería Baja’, was a designation used by the Spanish in the Viceroyalty of New Spain to create a geographic distinction between where the different dialects of

1932-461: The Pima and Tohono O'odham indigenous peoples residing in the Sonoran Desert. An added goal was giving Spain a colonial presence in their frontier territory of the Sonora y Sinaloa Province in the Viceroyalty of New Spain , and relocating by Indian Reductions ( Reducciones de Indios ) settlements and encomiendas for agricultural, ranching, and mining labor. The missions are in an area of

2016-700: The Pima Outbreak , was a revolt of Akimel O'odham people in 1751 against colonial forces in Spanish Arizona and one of the major northern frontier conflicts in early New Spain . Contact was infrequent with the Mexicans during their rule of southern Arizona between 1821 and 1853. The Akimel Oʼodham were affected by introduced European elements, such as infectious diseases to which they had no immunity, new crops (such as wheat), livestock, and use of metal tools and trade goods. Euroamerican contacts with

2100-583: The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (SRPMIC). Both tribes are confederations of two distinct ethnicities, which include the Maricopa . Within the O'odham people, four federally recognized tribes in the Southwest speak the same language: they are called the Gila River Indian Community ( Keli Akimel O'odham – " Gila River People"); the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community ( Onk Akimel O'odham – " Salt River People");

2184-817: The Sobaipuri , whose descendants reside on the San Xavier Indian Reservation or Wa꞉k (together with the Tohono O'odham ), and in the Salt River Indian Community. Together with the related Tohono O'odham ("Desert People") and the Hia C-ed O'odham ("Sand Dune People"), the Akimel O'odham form the Upper O'odham . The short name, Pima , is believed to have come from the phrase pi 'añi mac or pi mac, meaning "I don't know," which they used repeatedly in their initial meetings with Spanish colonists. The Spanish referred to them as

2268-570: The Sonoran Desert , then called " Pimería Alta de Sonora y Sinaloa" (Upper Pima of Sonora and Sinaloa), now divided between the Mexican state of Sonora and the U.S. state of Arizona . Jesuits in missions in Northwestern Mexico wrote reports that throw light on the indigenous peoples they evangelized. A 1601 report, Relación de la Provincia de Nuestra Señora de Sinaloa was published in 1945. An important Jesuit report concerned

2352-508: The Tohono O’odham , Pascua Yaqui , Ak-Chin and Gila River reservations) as well as those who settled in the region from the colonial period to the present day. Today, the San Xavier Indian Reservation , the second largest Indian reservation in Arizona, is situated in this region, as are the physical vestiges of mission structures and several presidios in both Arizona and Sonora. The ecological impact of European and American colonization in

2436-488: The Upper O'odham , also called Upper Pima or Pima Alto, was called Pimería Alta by the Spanish. The Akimel O'odham had lived along the Gila , Salt , Yaqui , and Sonora rivers in ranchería -style villages. The villages were set up as a loose group of houses with familial groups sharing a central ramada and kitchen area. Brush "Olas Ki:ki" (round houses) were built around this central area. The Oʼodham are matrilocal , with daughters and their husbands living with and near

2520-478: The famine years. Many Oʼodham have believed these wrong and misguided government policies were an attempt of mass genocide . Over the decades, the U.S. government promoted assimilation, forcing changes on to the Akimel Oʼodham in nearly every aspect of their lives. Since World War II, however, the Akimel Oʼodham have experienced a resurgence of interest in tribal sovereignty and economic development. The community has regained its self-government and are recognized as

2604-456: The 1790s, nearly a quarter century after the expulsion of the Jesuits, Opata family milpas and village laborers were irrigated from the same network of earthen acequias maintained by community labor. These walled adobe villages, situated on terraces overlooking the riverbed, conserved their pre-Hispanic legacy, reinforced by the mission experience. Despite the local character of the economy of

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2688-599: The Akimel Oʼodham in the middle Gila Valley increased after 1846 as a result of the Mexican–American War . The Akimel Oʼodham traded and gave aid to the expeditions of Stephen Watts Kearny and Philip St. George Cooke on their way to California. After Mexico's defeat , it ceded the territory of what is now Arizona to the United States, with the exception of the land south of the Gila River. Soon thereafter

2772-462: The Apache. Initially, the Akimel O'odham experienced little intensive colonial contact. Early encounters were limited to parties traveling through the territory or community members visiting settlements to the south. The Hispanic era (AD 1694–1853) of the Historic period began with the first visit by Father Kino to their villages in 1694. The Pima Revolt , also known as the O'odham Uprising or

2856-532: The Euro-American settlers became increasingly tense. The U.S. government adopted a policy of pacification and confinement of Native Americans to reservations. Uncertainty and variable crop yields led to major settlement reorganizations. The establishment of agency headquarters, churches and schools, and trading posts at Vahki (Casa Blanca) and Gu U ki (Sacaton) during the 1870s and 1880s led to the growth of these towns as administrative and commercial centers, at

2940-564: The Hohokam, this region would also become occupied by Apache groups beginning in the 17th century, whose presence would be detailed in Spanish colonial documents recounting the first expeditions northward. The remains of many pre-contact indigenous settlements in the area persist to this day. While the southern section of the Sonoran province of New Spain (or Pimería Baja) had been explored by missionaries and begun to be settled by colonists at

3024-496: The Native Americans (including the Sobaipuri ) in the area called the " Pimería Alta ," or "Upper Pima Country," which presently is located in northern Sonora and southern Arizona . During Father Eusebio Kino's stay in the Pimería Alta, he founded over twenty missions in eight mission districts. On February 3, 1768, King Carlos III ordered the expulsion of the Jesuits from Spain and its overseas empire. Despite

3108-517: The Pima Indians have frequently rebelled against the royal crown, killing the missionary padres of the Society of Jesus, some Spaniards, and some natives of this same province. (Note: the Pima rebellions happened independently of those occurring in the eastern Pimería Alta.) Significantly, however, not all indigenous peoples openly rebelled against Spanish colonization. Many indigenous peoples in

3192-679: The Pima language were spoken. While the region was not a political entity, its geographic contours have been described as: bounded on the north by the Gila River , on the south by the Altar River Valley, and on the west by the Colorado River and the Gulf of California , and to the east by the San Pedro River Valley. Before the first Spanish incursions into the region in the late 17th century, what would come to be

3276-734: The Pima. English-speaking traders, explorers, and settlers adopted this term. The Akimel O'odham called themselves Othama until the first account of interaction with non-Native Americans was recorded. Spanish missionaries recorded Pima villages known as Kina, Equituni, and Uturituc. European Americans later corrupted the miscommunication into Pimos, which was adapted to Pima river people. The Akimel Oʼodham people today call their villages District #1 – U's kehk (Blackwater), District #2 – Hashan Kehk (Saguaro Stand), District #3 – Gu꞉U Ki (Sacaton), District #4 – Santan, District #5 – Vah Ki (Casa Blanca), District #6 – Komatke ( Sierra Estrella Mountains ), and District #7 – Maricopa Colony. The territory of

3360-467: The Pimeria Alta found ways to adapt within the new conditions imposed by Spanish settlement and conquest and made use of official institutions to seek redress when necessary. Additionally, it was not uncommon for indigenous peoples on missions to be attacked during Apache raids against the Spanish. As the region became increasingly colonized by the Spanish settlers, they began to establish themselves around increasingly sparse water-bound areas (especially on

3444-485: The Pimería Alta was home to a diverse array of indigenous tribes. Upon the arrival of the Spaniards, these tribes included: [The] Pápagos (now considered a derogatory term for the Tohono O’odham ); Pimas, Sobaipuris , and Gileños (Akimel O’odham); Sobas and Areneños (possibly Hia Ced O’odham ); and the Yuman-speaking Coco-maricopas and Opas ( Maricopas , or Pee Posh). Neighboring groups along

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3528-458: The Pimería Alta, the social stratification increasingly produced by Spanish private land claims and associated enterprises (agricultural production, cattle grazing, and small-scale mining) created a division between Spanish hacendados and indigenous peasants. This was compounded by the fact that landholding (in turn determined by access to water) became “an instrument of social control.” The problems that this stratification produced proceeded well into

3612-533: The Santan, Agency, Blackwater, and Casa Blanca projects on the eastern half of the reservation. In 1917, the allotment size was doubled to include a primary lot of irrigable land and a secondary, usually non-contiguous 10-acre (40,000 m ) tract of grazing land. The most ambitious effort to rectify the economic plight of the Akimel Oʼodham was the San Carlos Project Act of 1924, which authorized

3696-511: The account reads: In valor all of the Pimas are very inferior to the Opatas, since often only their large numbers fill them with audacity and daring, which has been seen clearly in their last, numerously cited uprising in 1751, when first only ten men defended themselves, and of these half of them without knowing how to handle the weapons with certainty, of all their great numbers, and obstinate rage with which they wanted to drink their blood, and to

3780-501: The advance of private landholding. The landscape of Spanish colonization in the region changed upon the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767, a change widely grouped with the Bourbon Reforms of the late colonial period. Many of the missions previously run by the Jesuits were turned over to members of the secular clergy. Despite this change in administration, the missions underwent a general state of decline in both structure and in

3864-484: The area of textiles and produced intricate baskets as well as woven cloth. Prior to the arrival of Europeans, their primary military rivals were the Apache and Yavapai , who raided their villages at times due to competition for resources. The latter tribes were more nomadic, depending primarily on hunting and gathering, and would raid the more settled groups who cultivated foods. They established some friendly relations with

3948-547: The attempts to institute ‘democratic individualism’ in the 19th century. Upon the end of the Mexican–American War in 1848, the Pimería Alta remained part of Mexican state of Sonora and the region continued to be impacted by Mexican political reforms. It was not until 1853 with the signing of the Gadsden Purchase that the northern portion of what was the Pimería Alta was incorporated into the Arizona territory , with

4032-720: The behest of the Jesuits. Relatedly, the converted indigenous people became a source of economic support for the missions through their labor (directed by missionaries), which was necessary to the success of the mission. Within the framework of the missions, indigenous peoples were not only instruments of colonization, but also had access to a certain degree of authority within native councils based on these missions, termed cabildos . As Cynthia Radding points out: Indigenous officers of these councils, bearing titles of alcaldes, fiscales, topiles, and gobernadores modeled on Hispanic norms of municipal government and carrying canes of office as insignia of their authority, enforced law and order in

4116-582: The construction of a water storage dam on the Gila River. It provided for the irrigation of 50,000 acres (200 km ) of Indian and 50,000 acres (200 km ) of non-Indian land. For a variety of reasons, the San Carlos Project failed to revitalize the Oʼodham farming economy. In effect the project halted the Gila river waters, and the Akimel O'odham no longer had a source of water for farming. This began

4200-482: The crown. Adding to this was the local nature of economic production and exchange in the region throughout the colonial period. As noted by Cynthia Radding: Provincial markets remained small and basically local in scope, shifting with different mining bonanzas. The slow and uneven growth of marketing networks in Sonora, in contrast with Nueva Vizcaya and Nueva Galicia where urban centers developed more steadily, retarded

4284-480: The daughter's mother. Familial groups tended to consist of extended families. The Akimel Oʼodham also lived seasonally in temporary field houses in order to tend their crops. The O'odham language , variously called O'odham ñeʼokĭ , O'odham ñiʼokĭ or Oʼotham ñiok, is spoken by all O'odham groups. There are certain dialectal differences, but they are mutually intelligible and all O'odham groups can understand one another. Lexicographical differences have arisen among

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4368-489: The different groups, especially in reference to newer technologies and innovations. The ancient economy of the Akimel O'odham was primarily subsistence, based on farming, hunting and gathering. They also conducted extensive trading. The prehistoric peoples built an extensive irrigation system to compensate for arid conditions. It remains in use today. Over time the communities built and altered canal systems according to their changing needs. The Akimel Oʼodham were experts in

4452-434: The early 1700s, settlements and military posts called presidios were also established by colonial administrators, as were mining enterprises and small support settlements. Despite the initial success of several missions in the area at converting indigenous peoples to Christianity and turning them to sedentary lifestyles, the incursion of the Spanish in the region was oftentimes met with native resistance. A clear example of this

4536-459: The expense of others. By 1898 agriculture had nearly ceased within the GRIC. Although some Akimel Oʼodham drew rations, their principal means of livelihood was woodcutting. The first allotments of land within Gila River were established in 1914, in an attempt to break up communal land. Each individual was assigned a 10-acre (40,000 m ) parcel of irrigable land located within districts irrigated by

4620-430: The fathers Jacobo Sedelmayr and the padre rector Juan Nentuig they attacked for two days the house of the missionary of Tubutama, until leaving it with its new and well-built church reduced to rubble. The primary response to native resistance was force. This was best manifested in Spanish military expeditions into the region (sent from further south), of which the establishment of presidios (or military fortifications) were

4704-418: The first half of the 17th century, incursions into the Pimería Alta can be traced to several decades later. The first known Spanish incursion was made by Father Eusebio Kino , who in 1687 settled his first mission, Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de Cósari, in what is now northern Sonora. Father Kino, a Jesuit sent to the region to establish various missionary settlements, began establishing what would come to be

4788-410: The independence period. The impact of colonization in the region cannot be overestimated. Through its inhabitants, remnants of Spanish and native indigenous cultural customs would become a part of life in the Pimería Alta even after the end of the colonial period in 1821. Many of the customs and economic practices characteristic of the region would become entrenched into the independence period. Still it

4872-416: The landholding claims of Mexican settlers in the region were, while technically respected under the clauses of the Gadsden Purchase, frequently violated and conceded to Anglo-settlers. US settlement in the region was followed by later settlement by African-Americans, Chinese, and other migrant groups who would become attracted to the region's economic opportunities brought on in part by the copper mining boom of

4956-424: The late 19th century and by increased agricultural development in the region. Reservations continue to be a facet of life for many Indian nations in the US and their members to the present-day. Much of the Pimería Alta region spans the Sonoran Desert, one of the most ecologically diverse and wettest deserts in the world. Cultural and economic exchanges across national frontiers persisted even after US incorporation of

5040-405: The mission found their lands increasingly encroached upon by private Spanish interests. The expansion of Spanish private land claims often came at the expense of the historic right to commons that characterized indigenous life on missions. Despite this change, several indigenous communities continued to work the land originally allocated to them while living on the mission. As Radding points out: In

5124-451: The mission pueblos. Missionaries governed through the councils, in a form of indirect rule, and their presence was indispensable in implementing religious observance and work discipline; that is, for Christian indoctrination and the production of surpluses destined for circulation among the missions and for sale in colonial markets. In this case, cabildos both entrenched Spanish control while also granting indigenous peoples living on missions

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5208-414: The natural world. The Gila and Salt Rivers are currently dry, due to the ( San Carlos Irrigation project ) upstream dams that block the flow and the diversion of water by non-native farmers. This has been a cause of great upset among all of the Oʼodham. The upstream diversion in combination with periods of drought, led to lengthy periods of famine that were a devastating change from the documented prosperity

5292-482: The newly incorporated Southwestern territories, which alienated indigenous peoples from their prior landholdings. Through the Bureau of Indian Affairs , the government's policy involved the three tenants of “individual landholding, compulsory education, and religious replacement”. Prior Mexican residents of the region staked out their claim within US settlements, despite the existence of legal racial barriers. Significantly,

5376-399: The northern Pimeria Alta region, especially as the result of migration patterns. This exchange persisted despite US restrictions on cross-border economic exchanges and migration, many of which were first implemented in the early 20th century (see Immigration Act of 1924 and Mexican Americans ). Also present is the persistent cultural influence of indigenous peoples (including those within

5460-404: The number of indigenous peoples rooted to them. This came in contrast to the settlements and presidios in the region, many of which kept expanding throughout the colonial period and into the independence period (often at the expense of the missions). Upon the decline of mission settlements, many of the indigenous peoples whose communities were based around the physical and administrative structure of

5544-447: The order, many Jesuits remained in and around the present day Tucson, Arizona , as late as the 1780s. Missions were organized hierarchically. Each province contained several missions ( cabaceras ), which might have dependent visitas . (A particularly successful visita might be promoted to a mission in its own right.) Each mission or visita in turn had subordinate pueblos. The five provinces of Sonora and Sinaloa were: As of

5628-644: The people had experienced until non-native settlers engaged in more aggressive farming in areas that were traditionally used by the Akimel Oʼodham and Apache in Eastern Arizona. This abuse of water rights was the impetus for a nearly century long legal battle between the Gila River Indian Community and the United States government, which was settled in favor of the Akimel Oʼodham and signed into law by George W. Bush in December 2005. As

5712-414: The preparation for war. These speeches were adapted for each occasion but the general context was the same. Traditionally, the Akimel O'odham lived in a thatched wattle-and-daub houses, as seen by the early European-American settlers who ventured into their country: Their homes are jacales which are huts made of mats of reed-grass cut in half and built n the form of a vault on arched sticks. The top

5796-462: The region has been heavy, with many sources of water (including rivers) having dried out over time due to overuse, manipulation of the environment, and climate change. Pima people The Akimel O'odham ( O'odham for "river people"), also called the Pima , are an Indigenous people of the Americas living in the United States in central and southern Arizona and northwestern Mexico in

5880-451: The region while simultaneously stripping them of their political status as ‘Indians’. The second meant attempts to assimilate indigenous peoples into the local Mexican political system, followed thirdly by distribution of small, individual land plots to indigenous families. These policies collectively went against practices established by missionaries in the colonial period, such as communal agricultural production and political organization with

5964-473: The region. In the words of scholars John G. Douglass and William M. Graves: [t]he mission system in the Pimería Alta had two fundamental duties: to represent the Spanish Crown and convert native groups to Christianity. Throughout their history, these missions relied on Native American labor for economic support. As the Pimería Alta became more economically and politically important to colonial efforts in

6048-399: The region’s periphery included Jocomes, Apaches, Yumas ( Quechan ); Quíquimas ( Halyikwamai ), Cocopah , Seris , Nébomes (Eudeves), and Ópatas . Even prior to the settlement of these groups in what would come to be the Pimería Alta, humans had settled in the region more than three thousand years before. According to archaeological records, settlements and irrigation canals have been found in

6132-606: The remaining deserts to the west. The American era (A.D. 1853–1950), began in 1853 with the Gadsden Purchase , when the US acquired southern Arizona. New markets were developed, initially to supply immigrants heading for California. Grain was needed for horses of the Butterfield Overland Mail and for the military during the American Civil War . As a result, the Akimel Oʼodham experienced a period of prosperity. The Gila River Indian Community (GRIC)

6216-531: The resistance in 1691 of the Tarahumara to evangelization, Historia de la tercera rebelión tarahumara . Another important Jesuit account of evangelization in Sonora is Estado y descripción de Sonora, 1730 , which has considerable information about the size of the indigenous population, culture, and languages. In the Spring of 1687, Jesuit missionary named Father Eusebio Francisco Kino lived and worked with

6300-625: The river valleys of the region as far back as 2100 BC. Groups such as the Hohokam , widely considered to be the ancestors of the O’odham, would inhabit the region from approximately AD 500 to AD 1450. While each indigenous group native to the Pimería Alta had its own cultural idiosyncrasies, it can be generalized that those residing in the region were mostly semi-nomadic, relied on crops such as beans, squash and maize to subsist in addition to wild native plants, and were master artisans and pottery makers. There

6384-572: The riverine areas of the Sonoran Desert ). Attempts at agricultural production here were common, and haciendas were often worked by native indigenous workers. Agricultural production was accompanied with efforts to graze cattle in the region and small-scale mining efforts. However, in part due to the scarcity of water, large-scale flooding, and the geography of the desert region, these efforts never produced as much comparable wealth as other parts of New Spain further south. Because of this, these efforts proved to be of relatively little economic significance to

6468-461: The sand or ground." The Keli Akimel O'odham and the Onk Akimel O'odham have various environmentally based health issues related to the decline of their traditional economy and farming. They have the highest prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the world, much more than is observed in other U.S. populations. While they do not have a greater risk than other tribes, the Akimel O'odham people have been

6552-444: The southern portion remaining part of Mexico. The relationship of the US government towards the native residents of the Pimería Alta was radically different from that of the Mexican government. The main tenet of US policy was the forced settlement of indigenous peoples on government demarcated Indian reservations , physically separate from US settlements at large. This approach was in line with patterns of settlement by Anglo-Americans in

6636-618: The states of Sonora and Chihuahua . The majority population of the two current bands of the Akimel O'odham in the United States is based in two reservations: the Keli Akimel Oʼodham on the Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) and the On'k Akimel O'odham on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (SRPMIC). The Akimel O'odham are closely related to the Ak-Chin O'odham , now forming the Ak-Chin Indian Community . They are also related to

6720-466: The subject of intensive study of diabetes, in part because they form a homogeneous group. The general increased diabetes prevalence among Native Americans has been hypothesized as the result of the interaction of genetic predisposition (the thrifty phenotype or thrifty genotype ), as suggested by anthropologist Robert Ferrell in 1984 and a sudden shift in diet during the last century from traditional agricultural crops to processed foods, together with

6804-406: The tribe do not say aloud the names of deceased people, in order to allow them to move on and to call their spirits back among the living. The people gave their children careful verbal instruction in moral, religious, and other matters. Akimel O'odham ceremonies often included set speeches, in which the speaker would recite portions of their cosmic myth. Such a recounting was especially important in

6888-403: The water and the introduction of non-native diet is said to have been the leading contributing factor in the high rate of diabetes among the Akimel Oʼodham tribe. As of 2014, the majority of the population lives in the federally recognized Gila River Indian Community (GRIC). In historic times a large number of Akimel O'odham migrated north to occupy the banks of the Salt River, where they formed

6972-402: Was and is centered on the river, which is holy. The term Him-dag should be clarified, as it does not have a direct translation into the English language, and is not limited to reverence of the river. It encompasses a great deal because O'odham him-dag intertwines religion, morals, values, philosophy, and general world view which are all interconnected. Their worldview and religious beliefs focus on

7056-515: Was established in 1859. The 1860 census records the Akimel O'odham villages as Agua Raiz , Arenal, Casa Blanca, Cachanillo , Cerrito, Cerro Chiquito, El Llano, and Hormiguero . After the American Civil War, numerous Euroamerican migrants came to settle upstream locations along the Gila, as well as along the lower Salt River. Due to their encroachment and competition for scarce resources, interaction between Native American groups and

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