Cocopah
Yuman peoples |
The Cocopah (
In the United States, Cocopah people belong to the
Name
The Cocopah are also called the Cucapá (in Cocopa: Kwapa or Kwii Capáy.
Language
The
History
Precontact
Ancestors of the Cocopah inhabited parts of present-day
Post-contact
The first significant contact of the Cocopah with Europeans and Africans probably occurred in 1540, when the Spanish explorer Hernando de Alarcón sailed into the Colorado River delta. The Cocopah were specifically mentioned by name by the expedition of Juan de Oñate in 1605.
Post-Mexican cession
After the Mexican-American War, Cocopah lands were split between the US and Mexico through the Mexican Cession resulting from the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
Westward expansion in the 1840s and the discovery of gold in California in 1849 brought many migrants through the area near the mouth of the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon region. The strategic importance of the river crossing was recognized by the U.S. government, and the United States Army established Camp Independence in 1850 to protect the entry route through the tribe's territories. Many tribes along the Colorado River entered the ferry business given its profitability, creating many jobs for the Cocopah.[2]
The Cocopah agreed to join Garra's Tax Revolt of 1851, led by the Cupeño, to fight against the US government alongside the Quechan and nearby Kumeyaay bands. Together, the Cocopah sieged Camp Independence but the siege fell apart after disputes with the Quechan over the distribution of sheep confiscated from white sheepherders earlier.
The Cocopah also entered the Yuma War following the tax revolt initially on the side of the Quechan against the US. After making peace with the US, the Cocopah allied with the Paipai and Halyikwamai and turned against the Quechan, after accumulating tension between the two tribes. War broke out in May 1853, when the Cocopah besieged three Quechan villages holding them hostage. In retaliation, the Quechan-allied Mohave backed the Quechan and raided the Cocopah. The Yuma War came to an end when the US threatened the Mojave that they would intervene on the side of the Cocopah.
Cocopah in the Mexican Revolution
During the Mexican Revolution, the
On January 29, the Magonistas and the Cocopah
The Cocopah were eventually defeated by the Mexican forces in the following months and were forced off of their land by the Colorado River Land Company.[3]
Modern era
In 1964, the Cocopah Tribe of Arizona, on the US side of the border, ratified its first constitution and formed a five-person Tribal Council in the Cocopah Indian Reservation. In the late 1970s and 1980s, the tribe acquired additional land, constructed homes, installed utilities, developed infrastructure, and initiated economic development.[2]
Cocopah Tribe of Arizona
Cocopah peoples in the United States are enrolled in the Cocopah Tribe of Arizona. As of the 2000 United States Census, the Cocopah Tribe of Arizona numbered 891 people.[1] There is a casino, speedway, resort, family entertainment center and bingo hall on the reservation as well as a Museum and Cultural Center.[4] Another Yuman group, the Quechan, lives in the adjacent Fort Yuma Indian Reservation. On important occasions, Cocopah people wear their customary ribbon shirts and ribbon dresses.
Settlements
Cocopah people live in
Notes
- ^ a b c U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2010 Census 2010 American Indian and Alaska Native Summary File (AIANSF) - Sample Data, Cocopah Tribe of Arizona alone or in Combination, M22
- ^ a b "About Us - Cocopah Indian Tribe". www.cocopah.com. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
- ^ ISBN 978-607-7916-83-3.
- ^ Krol, Debra Utacia (February 27, 2024). "No small potatoes: Federal funding will help tribes expand electric service, irrigation". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ "Catálogo de las Lenguas Indígenas Nacionales". Gobierno de México (in Spanish). Retrieved March 15, 2023.
References
- Pritzker, Barry M. A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0-19-513877-1.
Further reading
- Gifford, E.W. (1933). The Cocopa. University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology, Vol 35:5, Pg 257–334.
- Kelly, William H. (1977). Cocopa Ethnography. Anthropological papers of the University of Arizona (No. 29). Tucson: University of Arizona Press. ISBN 0-8165-0496-2.
External links
- Cocopah Indian Tribe, official website
- Cocopah Constitution