The Tohono O'odham Nation

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Historically, the O’odham inhabited an enormous area of land in the southwest, extending South to Sonora, Mexico, north to Central Arizona (just north of Phoenix, Arizona), west to the Gulf of California, and east to the San Pedro River. This land base was known as the Papagueria and it had been home to the O’odham for thousands of years.

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From the early 18th Century through to the present, the O’odham land was occupied by foreign governments. With the independence of Republic of Mexico, O’odham fell under Mexican rule. Then, in 1853, through the Gadsden Purchase or Treaty of La Mesilla, O’odham land was divided almost in half, between the United States of America and Mexico.

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The division of O’odham lands has resulted in an artificial division of O’odham society. O’odham bands are now broken up into 4 federally recognized tribes: the Tohono O’odham Nation, the Gila River Indian Community, the Ak-Chin Indian Community and the Salt River (Pima Maricopa) Indian community. Each band is now politically and geographically distinct and separate. The remaining band, the Hia-C’ed O’odham, are not federally recognized, but reside throughout southwestern Arizona. All of the groups still speak the O’odham language, which derives from the Uto-Aztecan language group, although each group has varying dialects.

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Tohono O'odham Government

 

​The current tribal government, established in the 1930s under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, reflects years of commercial, missionary, and federal intervention. While the federal government encouraged tribes to reestablish their governments, it approved models based on the electoral system and structure of the US. 

 

The Tohono O’odham Nation is comprised of three branches of government; Executive (which houses the Chairman and Vice-Chairman’s office), Legislative (which houses the tribal council representatives-two reps from each of the 11 districts) and Judicial (which houses the courts and judges). The three branches of government exist together in a system of checks and balances and allows the Nation to conduct business with the assurance that each branch will keep the other two in harmony.

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Tohono O'odham Culture

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The Tohono Oʼodham share linguistic and cultural roots with the closely related Akimel Oʼodham (People of the River), historically known as Pima, whose lands lie just south of present-day Phoenix, along the lower Gila River. The ancestors of both the Tohono Oʼodham and the Akimel Oʼodham resided along the major rivers of southern Arizona. Ancient pictographs adorn a rock wall that juts up out of the desert near the Baboquivari Mountains.

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The Tohono Oʼodham have retained many traditions into the twenty-first century, and still speak their language. Since the late 20th century, however, U.S. mass culture has penetrated and in some cases eroded Oʼodham traditions as their children adopt new trends in technology and other practices.[20]

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The Cultural Center & Museum is working to instill pride by creating a permanent tribal institution to protect and preserve O’odham “jewe c himdag”. Working with elders, the Cultural Center & Museum will promote understanding and respect of O’odham “himdag” through educational programs and public outreach.

The Cultural Center & Museum is located in Topawa, AZ. For more information call (520)383-0200.

Visit the NEW Cultural Center & Museum at www.himdagki.org.