Indigenous peoples of Arizona

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Indigenous peoples of Arizona are the Native American people who currently live or have historically lived in what is now the state of Arizona. There are 22 federally recognized tribes in Arizona, including 17 with reservations that lie entirely within its borders. Reservations make up over a quarter of the state's land area.[1][2] Arizona has the third largest Native American population of any U.S. state.[2]

Archaeological evidence for the presence of Paleo-Indians in Arizona dates back at least 13,000 years.[3] Over subsequent millennia, several complex and long-lived cultures emerged; these included the Hohokam, Mogollon, Sinagua, and Ancestral Puebloans, who are all thought to be ancestors of multiple modern tribes.[4][5][6][7] The first Spanish settlers arrived in present-day Arizona in the mid-16th century, later establishing missions and drastically disrupting the indigenous way of life.[3]

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, present-day Arizona was ruled in turn by Spain, Mexico, and the United States. Settlers from all three nations encountered resistance from native Arizona communities, particularly the Apache.[3] During 19th and 20th century American rule, Arizona Natives faced forced cultural assimilation under the boarding school system, environmental degradation on reservation lands, and, in some cases, ethnic cleansing.[3]

In the 21st century, Arizona's Native communities continue to play a prominent role in its culture, notably in its tourism industry.[8] However, they also face systemic inequality, including a lack of water infrastructure and an increased susceptibility to health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.[9][10]

  1. ^ Bureau of Indian Affairs (January 12, 2023). "Indian Entities Recognized by and Eligible To Receive Services From the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs". Federal Register. 88: 2112–2116.
  2. ^ a b "US States With The Largest Native American Populations". WorldAtlas. 25 April 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d Arizona State Museum (2023). "Culture History of Southern Arizona". Arizona State Museum. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  4. ^ American Southwest Virtual Museum (2023). "Mogollon". American Southwest Virtual Museum. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  5. ^ Arizona Museum of Natural History (2023). "The Hohokam". Arizona Museum of Natural History. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  6. ^ American Southwest Virtual Museum (2023). "Sinagua". American Southwest Virtual Museum. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  7. ^ American Southwest Virtual Museum (2023). "Ancestral Puebloan". American Southwest Virtual Museum. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  8. ^ Blazier, Kelsie (September 1, 2022). "Arizona's indigenous communities shape the state's past and present". ABC 15. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  9. ^ Becenti, Arlyssa D.; McKinnon, Shaun (June 22, 2023). "Supreme Court rejects claims by the Navajo Nation in a key water case". Arizona Republic. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  10. ^ Yellow Horse, Aggie J.; Yang, Tse-Chuan; Huyser, Kimberly R. (2022). "Structural Inequalities Established the Architecture for COVID-19 Pandemic Among Native Americans in Arizona: a Geographically Weighted Regression Perspective". J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 9 (1): 165–175. doi:10.1007/s40615-020-00940-2. PMC 7815191. PMID 33469867.