Why there is an Indian Reservation next to Scottsdale, Arizona


I am reluctant to share what I am learning about Indians and the history of Phoenix. Even well-meaning people interrupt me, as they think that they already know all about it. I am saddened by this, as I have no interest in arguing with anyone. The real story, however, is so much more interesting than the racist comments that I hear. And I am willing to take the time to learn why certain things are, to this day, slightly mysterious about the relationship between the city of Phoenix and the Indian people who live there, and around there. If you are willing to take the time, walk with me.

If you know your Arizona history, you know that the Pima Indians lived as far south as Mexico, but only as far north as the Gila River, which is just south of Phoenix. The Pimas did not live in the Salt River Valley. Since the Hohokams had left there, no one did. It had become a war zone.

This was a centuries-old war between Indians, the Pimas and the Apaches, neither of which lived in the Salt River Valley. This is where they fought. Yes, the wounds have long since healed, but in the days of the founding of the city of Phoenix, the late 1860s, this war was ongoing.

The Phoenix pioneers, who wanted to settle in the Salt River Valley, allied with the Pimas. Their alliance was based on a common goal, which was to grow crops along the rivers, the Salt, and the Gila. The Pimas had been doing that for hundreds of years along the Gila, and they knew how to use the yearly cycles of the river. And they also knew how important it was to defend.

Of course, the logical place for the Pima Indian Reservation was where they were, which was along the Gila River. But a strategic place was also selected, along the Salt River. This was between the city of Phoenix and the Apaches, in the war zone.

The best information that I have found so far is the 1916 book by James McClintock Arizona, the Youngest State. His point of view is, of course, that of the people who finally won the war. If you take the time to read it, you will understand what that really means, and why it included Indian people, and does to this day.

Thank you for walking with me.
If you like pictures of old-time Phoenix, please become a member of History Adventuring on Patreon. I share a LOT of cool old photos there, copyright-free, with no advertising. If you like Phoenix history and would like to help support my efforts to preserve and share precious digital historic images, please consider becoming a patron. Thank you!

Become a Patron!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why cars in the future won't need stop signs, red lights, or stripes on the road

Image
Time-travel with me into the future. Where we're going, we'll still need roads, but our cars won't need the kind of stuff that human drivers need, like stop signs, or stuff painted on the road. And if you're already panicking that computers will take over, don't worry, they already have. The fact that you're reading this right now combines so much amazing computing power that it would have been unthinkable to anyone in the 1960s, or '70s, when I was a kid. Speaking of being in the geriatric age group, if you're like me or older, you took a lot of pride in knowing the rules of the road, such as what to do at a stop sign if four cars approach at the same time, the difference between a "yield" sign and a "merge" sign, or maybe how to parallel park. But calm down there old-timer, that type of knowledge will just be as quaint as how to use a horse and buggy is nowadays. Sorry! The best way to picture how traffic will flow in the future is
Read more

Why did Adolf Hitler always have such a bad haircut?

Image
As someone who has been interested in history since I was a little kid, I've always asked the most childish questions, and quite often never got an answer. As a kid, I was told to run along and play, and don't bother the grownups, so I set my questions aside to work on when I myself became a grownup. But some questions I really haven't found a satisfactory answer for, and get thrown away as I find myself learning the more important stuff. I now understand the grownups, but the kid in me still has childish questions like "Why did Adolf Hitler always have such a bad haircut?" The first question to ask is whether a particular style (whether hair, clothing, etc.) was in style at the time. The moustache was, and you can Google a photo of Charlie Chaplin, who wore the same style of moustache at the time, and quite stylishly. The wide lapels were in style in the 1930s, as was were the tall shirt collars and small ties. But the haircut wasn't - it's just awful. Me
Read more

Watching a neighborhood grow and change in Phoenix, Arizona

Image
I stopped to take a closer look yesterday at where the old Circle K had been in my neighborhood, which is a suburb of Phoenix. And it's got me to thinking about how much Phoenix grows and changes over the years, and how people feel about it. This particular neighborhood was built in the mid 1980s, when there had been only a smattering of houses and a community college (Glendale Community College, built in 1965). There are some houses that I can tell are from the 1970s, and a few even older, but what happened here is that the neighborhood suddenly appeared in 1985 or thereabouts. There are three shopping centers on the corner of 67th Avenue and Peoria - the one in the photo is called "Peoria Station", and it was designed to kinda look like a train station. The other three are called Westporte Village, Brittany Square, and Crossroads Plaza. I've lived in this neighborhood for a very long time, and no one ever uses those names, even though the signs are still up. But the
Read more