Modern-day Arizona is home to 22 federally recognized tribal governments, all of which consist of their own traditions, ceremonies, and dialects. But the distinction of “federally recognized tribes” is a misnomer, according to Jacob Moore, the Associate Vice President of Tribal Relations for Arizona State University.
“Given the broader region of the indigenous people being in southwest prior to the creation of the state of Arizona is that tribes were throughout the region and come from a lot of different areas,” Moore said.
Well before Arizona was an established state, indigenous cultures lived and thrived across the region for tens of thousands of years. Historians believe the earliest people lived in the area more than 12,000 years ago.
“They go back, as far as you know, people can actually remember,” Dr. Donald Fixico, a Regents Professor of History at ASU said. “When we try to understand how long that they have been here, or have left evidence that they've been here through what they've done. And the people were really ingenious people because they understood that water and building irrigation canals was really important.”
The Hohokam people, who lived in what is now the Mesa area, are credited with creating irrigation canals across the Salt and Gila Rivers as far back as 500 A.D.
“You see a very kind of progressive kind of spirit among Native people to live in this kind of area and to make adaptations. And so they did that. And it's very cleverly done,” Dr. Fixico said.
While indigenous communities are the cultural foundation of our nation and state’s history, Moore does not want that to be the only reason American Indian Tribes are discussed today.
“American Indian tribes in Arizona aren't just a relic of Western past,” he said. “They're as contemporary today and as vibrant today, and as resilient given that history, you know, that wasn't always a good history, certainly have been resilient and have survived and have adapted and continue to adapt and are active players in terms of economic development.”
Part of that economic development, as pointed out by both Moore and Dr. Fixico, is based in Arizona’s tourism industry, among others.
“One thing that the tribes have learned to do is to communicate and kind of open themselves up and to, to be learned about because they want other peoples and other tribes to learn about their history,” Fixico said. “And so they become very enlightened about tourism, different kinds of industries, because they want people to know about them, but from their perspective, from their point of view.”
To learn more about visiting Arizona’s tribal lands, click here.
To learn more about Arizona’s tribal nations, click here.
You can also check out these museums across the state (not a comprehensive list):
