Experiencing Arizona Indian Country
Arizona has many riches, form its deep and varied landscapes to its ample sunshine. At its core are the culture and traditions of people who have lived in this area for centuries, the first people who tamed this land and called it home.
Visitors from all over the world come to Arizona to take in some of the state’s 22 Native American tribes, whose homes range from the high deserts of the north to the saguaro-studded valleys to the south. The tribes have much to offer those willing to explore their lands beyond the Native American Casinos, with cultures and sights that await tourists eager to veer from beaten paths.
Arizona Tribes
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Havasupai Tribe: 928-448-2141
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Hopi Tribe: 928-734-3244 www.hopibiz.com
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Hualapai Tribe: 928-769-2590
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Kaibab-Paiute Tribe: 928-643-7445
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Navajo Nation: 928-810-8503 www.discovernavajo.com
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San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe: 928-283-4587
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Zuni Tribe: 505-782-7000
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San Carlos Apache Tribe: 928-475-2361
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Tonto Apache Tribe: 928-474-6044
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Yavapai-Apache Nation: 928-554-0789
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White Mountain Apache Tribe: 928-338-1230 www.wmat.nsn.us
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Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe: 928-771-6757 www.ypit.com
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Ak-Chin Indian Community: 520-568-1359 www.ak-chin.nsn.us
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Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community: 480-850-8060 www.saltriver.pima-maricopa.nsn.us
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Gila River Indian Community: 520-562-6120
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Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation: 480-816-7211
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Cocopah Indian Tribe: 928-627-1992
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Colorado River Indian Tribes: 928-669-6757
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Fort Mojave Indian Tribe: 760-629-4591
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Fort Yuma-Quechan Tribe: 760-572-0661
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Pascua Yaqui Tribe: 520-879-6315
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Tohono O’odham Nation: 520-889-8588
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Native American Ruins near Phoenix
Tuzigoot National Monument
What: There are few ruins as distinctive as Tuzigoot, with its walls of round river cobblestones. It was home to Sinagua Indians from about 1000 to 1400. The Ruins Loop Trail, about 1/3 mile in length, is steep, but not difficult, and takes you around the site. Rangers give guided tours.
Where: Between Clarkdale and Cottonwood and about 100 miles north of Central Phoenix. Take I-17 north to Exit 287, then Arizona 260 west to Cottonwood and Main Street north to Tuzigoot Road.
Montezuma Castle National Monument
Montezuma Castle is a five level Native American cliff dwelling in a limestone alcove above Beaver Creek near Camp Verde. The structure was home to Sinagua people more than 600 years ago. It’s one of three well known ruins in the Verde Valley, about 90 miles north of Phoenix and 30 miles south of Flagstaff on I-17: visit Montezuma Castle, Montezuma Well and Tuzigoot National Monument.
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
For over a thousand years, prehistoric farmers inhabited much of the present-day state of Arizona. When the first Europeans arrived, all that remained of this ancient culture were the ruins of villages, irrigation canals and various artifacts. Among these ruins is the Casa Grande, or "Big House," one of the largest and most mysterious prehistoric structures ever built in North America. The park is in Coolidge, Arizona, about an hour-long drive from either Phoenix or Tucson. From Interstate 10 take the Coolidge exits and follow the signs to the park entrance.
History
From pre-historic pots to today’s casinos, there is a Native American history continuum.
Traditional culture itself was never static but under constant change; After all, “traditional” Navajo culture, with its sheepherding and silversmithing, came as a result of the Spanish. And even before that, archaeological evidence makes it clear that Native groups constantly interacted with each other and that commercial trade brought peoples into contact from Atlantic to Pacific. They all borrowed from each other, migrated to new territories, developed and sometimes devolved civic governments and cultural ideas.
Two large Arizona cultural groups were the Anasazi in the north and the Hohokam in the south. Each culture rose through several development periods, from nomadic to sedentary, and their artifacts and architecture developed from rugged and roughshod to highly developed and organized town and city sites with surprisingly sophisticated planning. A third paleo-Indian group, the Patayan, inhabited the western portions of the territory.
The ruins of these cultures dot the landscape, from Casa Grande Ruins National Monument in Coolidge to Navajo National Monument near Kayenta.
There is the mystery of these peoples and how they had disappeared sometime in the 12th century. But, they never disappeared. They just continued to change. In the north, they became the various Puebloan peoples, including the Hopis and Zunis in Arizona. In the south, they became the Akimel O’odham and Tohono O’odham peoples-also known as Pimas and Papagos. In the west, they became the Yumas, the Mojaves, Havasupai, Yavapai and Hualapai, among others.
Sometime before the 16th century, groups of Athabascan-speaking peoples migrated to the region, upsetting the balance of politics. They became the Apaches and Navajos of today.
Later, probably a few decades after the Athabascans arrived, the Spanish showed up. In 1540, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado traveled through Arizona on a search for gold. After 1598, large groups of European settlers began arriving, bringing with them ideas from the Old World and Roman Catholicism. The inevitable culture clash led to much suffering, and, by 1680, a momentarily successful Pueblo Revolt that kicked the Spanish out of portions of the territory. But 12 years later, the Spanish regained control, and the uneasy occupation of the land, and cultures at cross-purposes continued.
The most serious effect of the European invasion was the epidemics of non-native diseases that wiped out about 80 percent of the Indian population. In the 19th century, the United States gained control of the Southwest and began its own attempt to govern and control Native tribes. The Indian Wars were not so much wars as ethnic cleansing, which ended with tribes herded off to reservations. In Arizona, more than 19 million acres of land are given over to reservations. The Navajo Reservation alone is larger than West Virginia.
There is not room here to recount the miseries visited upon Native Americans, but federal policy has changed many times over the past two centuries, from on of sequestration to one of forced assimilation to a more benign, but less focused, policy now of promoting self-determination and economic development. None of the policies can be called a success.
The Native American population of today’s Arizona continues to change. Through all of the change, Arizona Indians have continued to maintain, to the best of their ability, the core of their cultural identity while riding the wave of change.
Etiquette When Visiting Reservations
Visitors should be aware of rules and proper etiquette on tribal lands. Here are a few tips when experiencing different cultures:
- Ask before recording or photographing tribal members. Some tribes prohibit all forms of recording, including taking notes or sketches. Some subjects may ask for a small stipend.
- Dances are considered sacred; act as you would during any religious ceremony. Cameras are not permitted. Do not push to the front of the crowd for a better view. Do not cross the powwow arena, and do not applaud during or at the end of the dance. Should something be dropped during the dance, such as a feather or bead, leave it alone.
- Do not remove potsherds, plants or any artifacts.
- Alcohol is not allowed except in designated area, such as casinos.
- Different tribes have different customs. For example, the Navajos consider a firm handshake to be overbearing and rude, so grips are loose. The Hopis prohibit photography and tape recordings. Contact the particular tribe for more information.
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