Indigenous peoples of Arizona
[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.
[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.
Clovis spear points have been discovered in several locations along the San Pedro River, including at the Naco and Lehner Mammoth Kill Sites.
Archaic cultures identified in present-day Arizona include the San Dieguito complex, the Picosa and subsequent Oshara traditions, and the early Basketmakers.
[11] Following the end of the Archaic period, several prominent cultures emerged in present-day Arizona, including the Hohokam, Mogollon, Sinagua, and Ancestral Puebloans.
Several archaeological sites in Arizona that preserve pueblos include the Hohokam Casa Grande Ruins, the Sinagua Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot, and the Ancestral Puebloan structures of Wupatki National Monument.
The Hohokam are also known for constructing an elaborate system of canals in what is now the Phoenix metropolitan area, which formed the foundation of the modern-day Salt River Project that provides water for much of Central Arizona.
[3] While the precise causes of this are not definitively known, localized climate change, including severe drought and flooding, has been suggested as a driving factor, as has resource depletion and warfare with newly arrived groups in the region.
In the second half of the 17th century, the Spanish Empire began widespread exploration of present-day Arizona, including the establishment of over twenty missions in the Pimería Alta by Eusebio Kino to introduce Christianity to the local Akimel and Tohono Oʼodham populations.
[3] By the mid-18th century, decades of violence and forcible lifestyle changes from Spanish colonization led to discontent among the O'odham, who in 1751 ignited the Pima Revolt under the leadership of Luis Oacpicagigua.
Upon their surrender in 1864, they, along with the Mescalero Apache, were forced to migrate from their land in present-day Arizona to internment camps at Fort Sumner/Bosque Redondo, in an act of ethnic cleansing that would become known as the Long Walk.
[20] Although the curriculum underwent heavy reform during the 1930s at the behest of reformist Bureau of Indian Affairs chief John Collier, the school remained open until 1990.
During the construction of the Hoover Dam, John Collier and the U.S. government, believing that Navajo agriculture was causing environmental damage to the area, forced farmers to cull their livestock; the resulting economic impact led the Navajo to engage in organized political resistance and more robust self-governance, a process which accelerated further after World War II.
[20] Native-run casinos, along with sites on tribal land, museums, and cultural festivals, have become an important contributor to Arizona's tourism industry in the 21st century.
