THE CULTURE
The Man in the Maze legend is the symbol
of life for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. According
to this teaching, man journeys inward to seek knowledge and truth.
The search is both real and symbolic.
The Pimas, who believe themselves the
direct descendants of the Huhu-kam (or Hohokam), have a long history
of giving freely of themselves to help others. They welcomed the
Maricopa tribe into their midst after that tribe was chased from
their homelands along the Colorado River by warring Apaches and
Quechans.
In the 1800s, the Pimas and Maricopas
provided the U.S. Military, gold prospectors, and pioneers with
supplies of food and water. When, to accommodate the influx of
settlers, the U.S. government ultimately dammed the rivers and
cut off the tribe's water supply, some farming families were forced
to relocate from the Gila River to the Salt River.
By 1878, with 600-700 Pima and Maricopa
people living and farming along the Salt River, the U.S. government
established the Salt River Reservation in 1879. Originally extensive,
the size was dramatically reduced when non-Indian settlers objected
to the Indians being given so much land.
In time, politics and lack of water
doomed the traditional agrarian way of life. Despite agreements
and court decisions, water was diverted from tribal farms making
farming nearly impossible. When the Dawes Act of 1910 took effect
at Salt River, it attempted to replace the centuries-old system
of family farms with individual allotments of land. These allotments
were divided into 10 acres below the Arizona canal and 20 acres
of secondary land above the canal, with the 20 acre parcels having
no rights to irrigation water.
To regain some control over its land
and government, on June 15, 1940, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa
Indian Community adopted the Indian Reorganization Act. Over the
next 60 plus years, it established a sophisticated system of government,
launched successful business enterprises, and began rebuilding
the Community. Salt River Devco is the Community's newest
enterprise.
For more information about the Salt
River Pima Maricopa Indian Community, please
visit their web site.
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Copyright © 2003. Salt River Devco. Scottsdale, Arizona. All rights
reserved.
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