Historical/cultural ecology of the Tohono O'odham nation

Abstract

The Tohono O'odham and their predecessors have occupied southwestern Arizona and northern Mexico (Pimeria Alta) for thousands of years. During that time the physical environment as well as the occupants' cultural patterns changed. This historical geographic study chronicles that change. It starts 10,000 years ago with a brief description of the early environment and how the people survived, continues with a discussion of agricultural crop introduction from central Mexico, and is followed by the period of Spanish colonization and Mexican occupation. The majority of this study, however, focuses on the post 1824 period when contact between the United States and the O'odharn began. Prior to United States takeover the O'odham lifestyle, owing to their isolated position in the harsh, and Pimeria Alta and utilization of a policy of cultural/ecological opportunism, had changed little. However, during the twentieth century their lifestyle has undergone considerable modification. They have reached a point in time where their economic base has changed from subsistence farming to wage labor and finally to owners of profitable gaming casinos. Now they must decide if they are going to continue as a unique cultural unit or blend further with the dominant society.