People of the Sun: the Yavapai
Whenever any untoward even occurred between Settlers and Natives in Arizona, the Apaches were almost universally blamed. However, there were other tribes who didn't appreciate trespassers and who did their level best to protect their home and hunting ranges. The Yavapai are a Yuman-speaking people who divide themselves into four independent divisions, Western Yavapai, Northwestern Yavapai, Southeastern Yavapai, and Verde Valley or Southwestern Yavapai. A band of Yavapai, known as the Desert Yavapai were eventually absorbed into the Mohave and Quechan people. The Yavapai range was traditionally the San Francisco Peaks to the north, the Pinaleno and Mazatzal Mountains to the Southeast, and nearly to the Gila and Salt Rivers in the South.
The pre-contact Yavapai were hunters and gatherers. Some practiced subsistence farming of the three staples, corn, squash and beans. They also traded with other groups, animals skins and baskets for items of food. They lived in rounded, brush shelter dwellings, as well as dwellings and lean-tos of ocotillo branches and/or covered with skins. The Yavapai were divided into local groups of extended families which banded together for war and hunting. They lived alongside some Apache groups such as the Tonto, and were often mistaken for them, but are two ethnically distinct tribes. They were first contacted by the Spanish in the late 16th century. Eventually, some Yavapai adopted the raising of livestock from contact with Europeans. As with many tribes, contact with Europeans brought diseases and reduced the Yavapai population. Contact with Anglos came during the fur trading era of the 1820's.
After the United States took over Arizona in 1848, large-scale incursions into Yavapai territory began, increasing conflict between them and the Army or individual settlers. In 1863, a minor gold rush happened in what is now Prescott, Arizona, bringing an influx of miners into Arizona and forcing the Yavapai further from their traditional lands. By 1864, territorial authorities were calling for all tribes to be placed on reservations. In 1871, a stagecoach was ambushed near what is now Wickenburg, Arizona, causing the Yavapai to be relocated with the Apache to San Carlos Reservation. Also, in 1872, the infamous Skeleton Cave incident occurred, when several Yavapai families were tracked to a cave in Salt River Canyon and killed by boulders thrown down at them and bullets ricocheted off the cave walls. Many Yavapai joined Geronimo and his Apaches in their revolt against White intrusion.
The Yavapai were eventually relocated to the Camp Verde Reservation and became proficient in farming, making them self sufficient. However, in 1875, this reservation was closed and the Yavapai were forced to relocate back to San Carlos in winter, causing the deaths of over 100 people. Camp Verde was reopened in 1910 and over time expanded. It now houses the Yavapai-Apache Nation. There are other reservations as well, Yavapai Prescott Indian Reservation and the Fort McDowell Yavapai Reservation. The Yavapai people are still noted for their agricultural and livestock raising, as well as their basketry work.
The pre-contact Yavapai were hunters and gatherers. Some practiced subsistence farming of the three staples, corn, squash and beans. They also traded with other groups, animals skins and baskets for items of food. They lived in rounded, brush shelter dwellings, as well as dwellings and lean-tos of ocotillo branches and/or covered with skins. The Yavapai were divided into local groups of extended families which banded together for war and hunting. They lived alongside some Apache groups such as the Tonto, and were often mistaken for them, but are two ethnically distinct tribes. They were first contacted by the Spanish in the late 16th century. Eventually, some Yavapai adopted the raising of livestock from contact with Europeans. As with many tribes, contact with Europeans brought diseases and reduced the Yavapai population. Contact with Anglos came during the fur trading era of the 1820's.
After the United States took over Arizona in 1848, large-scale incursions into Yavapai territory began, increasing conflict between them and the Army or individual settlers. In 1863, a minor gold rush happened in what is now Prescott, Arizona, bringing an influx of miners into Arizona and forcing the Yavapai further from their traditional lands. By 1864, territorial authorities were calling for all tribes to be placed on reservations. In 1871, a stagecoach was ambushed near what is now Wickenburg, Arizona, causing the Yavapai to be relocated with the Apache to San Carlos Reservation. Also, in 1872, the infamous Skeleton Cave incident occurred, when several Yavapai families were tracked to a cave in Salt River Canyon and killed by boulders thrown down at them and bullets ricocheted off the cave walls. Many Yavapai joined Geronimo and his Apaches in their revolt against White intrusion.
The Yavapai were eventually relocated to the Camp Verde Reservation and became proficient in farming, making them self sufficient. However, in 1875, this reservation was closed and the Yavapai were forced to relocate back to San Carlos in winter, causing the deaths of over 100 people. Camp Verde was reopened in 1910 and over time expanded. It now houses the Yavapai-Apache Nation. There are other reservations as well, Yavapai Prescott Indian Reservation and the Fort McDowell Yavapai Reservation. The Yavapai people are still noted for their agricultural and livestock raising, as well as their basketry work.
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