- Cocopah people
-
Cocopah 
Total population 912 (1993)[1] Regions with significant populations 
Mexico
(
Baja California and 
Sonora)
United States (
Arizona)Languages Religion traditional tribal religion
Related ethnic groups Yuman peoples
The Cocopah or Cocopa are Native American people who live in Baja California and Sonora, Mexico, and in Arizona in the United States. The Cocopah language belongs to the Delta–California branch of the Yuman family. In Spanish, the Cocopah are termed Cucapá. Their self-designation is Xawiƚƚ kwñchawaay or "Those Who Live on the River."[1]
Contents
Prehistory and history
The term Patayan is used by archaeologists to describe the prehistoric Native American cultures that inhabited parts of modern day Arizona, California and Baja California, including areas near the Colorado River Valley, the nearby uplands, and north to the vicinity of the Grand Canyon. The makers of this prehistoric culture may have been ancestral to the Cocopah and other Yuman-speaking groups in the region. The Patayan peoples practiced floodplain agriculture where possible, but they relied heavily on hunting and gathering.
The first significant contact of the Cocopah with Europeans probably occurred in 1540, when the Spanish explorer Hernando de Alarcón sailed into the Colorado River delta. The Cocopah were specifically mentioned by name by the expedition of Juan de Oñate in 1605.
At the time of European contact.Cocopah Indian Tribe
Main article: Cocopah Indian Reservation
Yuma County with Cocopah reservation highlighted
Cocopah peoples in the United States are enrolled in the Cocopah Indian Tribe. As of the 2000 census a resident population of 1,025 persons, of whom 519 were solely of Native American heritage, lived on the 25.948 km² (10.0185 sq mi) Cocopah Indian Reservation, which is composed of several non-contiguous sections in Yuma County, Arizona, lying southwest and northwest of the City of Yuma, Arizona.[2]
There is a casino and bingo hall on the reservation. Another Yuman group, the Quechan, lives in the adjacent Fort Yuma Indian Reservation. The Cocopah sometimes wear traditional grass skirts.
Notes
- ^ a b Pritzker, 28
- ^ Cocopah Reservation, Arizona United States Census Bureau
References
- Pritzker, Barry M. A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0195138771.
Bibliography
- Kelly, William H. (1977). Cocopa ethnography. Anthropological papers of the University of Arizona (No. 29). Tucson: University of Arizona Press. ISBN 0-8165-0496-2.
External links
- Cocopah Indian Tribe, official website
Indigenous peoples of Arizona Contemporary peoples native to Arizona Chemehuevi · Chiricahua · Cocopah · Tonto Apache · Havasupai · Hopi · Hualapai · Maricopa · Mohave · Navajo · Southern Paiute · Pima · Quechan · San Carlos Apache · Tewa · Tohono O'odham · Southern Ute · White Mountain Apache · Xalychidom · Yaqui · Yavapai (Kwevkepaya, Wipukepa, Tolkepaya, and Yavepé) · ZuniPrehistoric cultures in Arizona See also List of ancient dwellings of Pueblo peoples in ArizonaCategories:- Federally recognized tribes in the United States
- Native American tribes in Arizona
- Native American history of Arizona
- Ethnic groups in Mexico
- Indigenous peoples in Mexico
- Lower Colorado River Valley
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