Pima
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The Akimel O'odham or Pima are a group of American Indians living in an area consisting of what is now central and southern Arizona (USA) and Sonora (Mexico). The name means "river people". They are closely related to the Tohono O'odham (meaning "desert people", formerly known as Papago). The name "Pima" apparently comes from a phrase that means "I don't know", used repeatedly in their initial meeting with Europeans.
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[edit] History prior to 1539
The Akimel O'Odham (anthropologically known as the Pima) are a subgroup of the O'odham which includes the Akimel O'Odham (known as the Gila River Indian Community), the Onk Akimel O'Odham (known as the Salt River Indian Community), the Tohono O'Odham, and the Hia'Ced O'odham (known as the Tohono O'odham Nation). These groups are culturally related and consider themselves to be all one group, that were politically separated when the US Government imposed tribal boundaries upon them. They are culturally descended from the group archaeologically known as the Hohokam. The term Hohokam is a derivative of the O'odham word "Huhugam" (pronounced hoo-hoo-gahm which is literally translated as "those who have gone before" but meaning "the ancestors."
The Akimel O'odham lived along the Gila River, Salt River, Yaqui River, and Sonora River in ranchería style villages. The villages were set up as a loose group of settlements with familial groups sharing a central ramada and kitchen area with brush round houses surrounding. The O'odham are patrilocal, and familial groups tended to consist of extended families. The Akimel O'odham also lived in temporary field houses seasonally, to tend their crops.
The O'odham language is spoken by each O'odham group, which is part of the Uto-Aztecan family. The main differences between groups are dialectical, but all O'odham groups can speak and understand one another despite the differences. There are also some lexicographical differences as well, especially in reference to newer technologies, and innovations.
The economy of the Akimel O'odham was primarily dependent on subsistence, and consisted of farming, hunting, and gathering, although there was extensive trading as well. Farming was dependent on an extensive irrigation system that was constructed in prehistoric times and remained in use for hundreds of years. Over time canal systems were built and rebuilt according to the needs of the communities. The Akimel O'odham were experts in the area of textilery and produced intricate baskets and woven cloth. Prior to the arrival of Europeans, their primary military rival were the Apache, who raided their villages at times due to competition for resources. Although the Akimel O'odham did have conflicts with other groups they were primarily a peaceable people, who were most well known for their aid to other groups in emergencies.
[edit] History after 1539
The first reported contact with Europeans was in 1539 with the Spanish missionary Marcos de Niza. Later missionary visitors were Father Eusebio Kino and Father Francisco Garcés. The Spanish civil authorities moved into the land and established forts, ranches, and mines. The treatment by the Spanish led to unsuccessful rebellions between 1695 and 1751. European farmers came to the Gila River in the mid 19th century, eventually limiting the Akimel O'odham to a reservation consisting of a small fraction of the more than 3.5 million acres of land they consistently and continuously used previously. Because this land was dramatically less land than could support the population, several groups migrated north to settle along the Salt River, which later became the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.
[edit] Akimel O'odham and the Salt River
The Akimel O'odham (River People) have lived on the banks of the Gila River long before European contact.
Their way of life (himdagĭ, sometimes rendered in English as Him-dak) was and is centered around the river, which is considered 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 world view/religious beliefs are centered around the natural world, and this is pervasive throughout their culture.
In present day times the Gila River is dry, due to diversion by non native farmers upstream during historic times. This has been a cause of great upset among all of the O'odham. The upstream diversion in combination with periods of drought, led to lengthy periods of famine which was a devastating change from the documented prosperity the people had experienced until non-native settlers engaged in more aggressive farming in areas that were traditionally used by the Akimel O'odham 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 O'Odham and signed into law by George W. Bush in December of 2005. As a side note,at times during the monsoon season the 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 the water and the introduction of non-native diet had devastating effects on the health of the people as well.
[edit] Modern life
Currently, the majority of the population is based in the Gila River Indian Community (GRIC), although in historic times a large number of Akimel O'Odham migrated north to occupy the banks of the Salt River and formed the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. Both tribes are confederations of two distinct cultures that include the Maricopa.
Today the GRIC is a sovereign tribe residing on over 550,000+ acres of land in central Arizona. The community is divided into seven districts (similar to states) with individual subgovernments. It is self-governed by an elected Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and 18 member tribal council. The council is elected by district with the number of electees determined by district population. There are over 16,000 enrolled members overall.
Today the GRIC is involved in various economic development enterprises that include three casinos, golf courses, a luxury resort, a western themed amusement park, various industrial parks, landfills, and construction supply. The GRIC is also involved in agriculture and runs its own farms and other agricultural projects.
The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community is smaller in size and is governed by an elected President and tribal council as well. They are also invested in tribal gaming, industrial projects, landfills, and construction supply.
As was previously mentioned during the discussion of the diversion of the Gila River, the Akimel O'odham and the Onk Akimel O'odham have various environnmentally based health issues that can be traced directly back to that point in time when the traditional economy was devastated. They have the highest prevalence of type 2 diabetes on Earth, much more than is observed in other US populations. While they do not have a greater risk than other tribes, the Pima people have been the subject of intensive study of diabetes, in part because they form a homogeneous group.[1] 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[1]) and a sudden shift in diet from traditional agricultural goods towards processed foods in the past century. For comparison, genetically similar Pimas in Mexico have virtually no type 2 diabetes.[1]
[edit] Pimas of note
- Ira Hayes (1923–1955), Marine Paratrooper and Iwo Jima flagraiser
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] Further reading
- Waldman, Carl. Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. New York: Checkmark, 1999. ISBN 0-8160-3964-X
- Smithsonian. "Handbook of North American Indians. v. 10 Southwest." Smithsonian Institute, Washington, 1983.
