Okay, here’s a rewrite of the article about the Mojave Indian Tribe, aiming for a more casual and engaging tone.
Mojave Indian Tribe: The People By The River
Ever heard of the Mojave? These Native Americans are deeply connected to the Colorado River, right in the heart of the Mojave Desert. Their home, the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation, sprawls across the borders of California, Arizona, and Nevada. They also share the Colorado River Indian Reservation with the Chemehuevi, Hopi, and Navajo peoples. Talk about a diverse neighborhood!
Where It All Began
In their own language, they call themselves the "Pipa Aha Macav" – which translates to "The People By The River." Makes sense, right? The Mojave’s story begins at Spirit Mountain, the tallest peak in the Newberry Mountains. This spot, nestled northwest of their current reservation in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, is super important to their culture. According to their beliefs, their spirit mentor, Mutavilya, created the Colorado River, all the plants and animals around it, and even taught the Mojave the ways of civilization. He even gave them their names and a set of commandments to live by!
The Mojave, the northernmost of the Yuman tribes, once roamed the land from Black Canyon down to the Picacho Mountains, hugging the Colorado River. Their language is part of the River Yuman family, which tells you a lot about their history and connections.
Stories Passed Down
A lot of the early Mojave history wasn’t written down. They relied on telling stories to pass down their culture and history. But things like diseases, the influence of other cultures, and people moving onto their land made it harder to keep those stories alive. It interrupted the way they shared their history and songs with the younger generations.
Living off the Land
These guys were clever farmers! They used a method called dry farming, which meant they depended on the Colorado River to flood regularly and water their crops along the riverbanks. They also gathered wild seeds and roots, especially mesquite beans, and hunted game and fished in the river using traps and nets. Talk about resourcefulness!
Traders and Protectors
The Mojave were known for being tough and protective of their land, but they were also adventurous. They traveled all the way to the Pacific Coast and became skilled traders. They’d trade extra crops with tribes along the coast for things they wanted, like shells.
Family Ties
The Mojave lived in clans, and kids took their father’s clan name. However, only the women actually used the clan name.
They had leaders who helped govern the people. A hereditary chief and leaders from the different regional groups made decisions. But these leaders needed the support and approval of the people to stay in charge.
Dreams and Art
Dreams were a big deal to the Mojave. They believed dreams were where knowledge came from. Important dreams and visions, like stories and songs, were shared with everyone. These told about the people’s history, legends, brave deeds, wars, magic, and heroes.
They were also talented artists. They made pottery from clay and crushed sandstone from the riverbanks. They’d shape the clay, let it dry, paint it, and then fire it in pits or simple ovens. They made pots, bowls, and dishes with cool geometric designs. The women even made special pottery dolls for the kids, dressing them up and decorating them with human hair!
Tattoos were also a popular art form. They tattooed their faces with lines and dots as a way to look good and fashionable.
They also used a plant called Datura in religious ceremonies. Young Mojave people coming of age had to take this plant to enter a new state of mind as part of a rite of passage.
Saying Goodbye
When someone died, the Mojave cremated them to help them enter the spirit world. The person’s belongings were burned along with their body on a pyre to go with them. People who were mourning would often throw in valuable things as a sign of love. After someone died, their name was never spoken again.
When Worlds Collided
The arrival of white settlers changed everything. In 1604, Don Juan Onate, the governor of New Mexico, led an expedition through Mojave territory looking for silver.
But it wasn’t until 1775 that Fray Francisco Garces became the first white man to actually meet the Mojave. He wrote that they were friendly, good-looking, healthy, and strong. He also mentioned that the men walked around naked, and the women wore capes made of rabbit and beaver skin. He figured there were about 3,000 of them.
Back then, the Mojave were the biggest group of people in the American Southwest. They lived in three main areas: from Black Canyon to the Mojave Valley, in the central Mojave Valley, and from the Mojave Valley to below Needles Peaks.
Trouble on the Horizon
In 1826, American mountain men led by Jedediah Smith showed up. At first, the Mojave welcomed them, but things soon turned sour.
In 1827, another group of trappers led by James Ohio Pattie came through. They didn’t want to give the Mojave a horse in exchange for the beaver they were taking from the river. A few days later, two white men and 16 Mojave were dead. Later that year, Jedediah Smith came back and was attacked. He lost nine men. For the next 20 years, there were fights and violence, especially when trappers from the Hudson Bay Company killed 26 Mojave.
The Army Arrives
In 1850, the United States took over the territory, including Arizona, and the U.S. Army started moving in.
Captain L. Sitgreaves led the way in 1851. He was followed in 1854 by Lieutenant Amie Weeks Whipple, who was a friendly guy and gained the trust of the Mojave. Whipple’s group surveyed and mapped out a railroad route from Fort Smith, Arkansas, to the Pacific Ocean. Most of the Mojave were happy about this because it meant a chance to trade.
The Oatman Girls
From 1851 to 1856, the U.S. military was always around, but they never found two white girls, Olive and Mary Ann Oatman, who were living with the Mojave. The Tonto Apache captured them in 1851 after killing their family. The girls were traded to Mojave Chief Espaniol for two horses, some vegetables, beans, and blankets. Mary Ann, the younger sister, died in 1854, probably from not having enough food. Olive, who was 16, was returned to her relatives in 1856.
The story became a big deal in the news and made non-Indians angry. But the Mojave thought the girls were lucky to be with them instead of the Tonto Apache. The chief took them into his family, gave them the best he could, and treated them well.
Fort Mojave
In 1858, Lieutenant Edward Beale and his camels cleared and opened a wagon road along Whipple’s route, which led to the creation of Fort Mojave. He suggested building a fort to protect the river crossing near where Needles is today. In August, a wagon train that stayed too long near the crossing was attacked.
People were demanding that the Mojave be "wiped out," so 700 Indian fighters led by Colonel William Hoffman were sent from San Francisco in 1859. The army moved into Mojave country to build a military post on the east bank of the Colorado River. This was supposed to protect white settlers from the Mojave. Hoffman warned the tribes that they would take the land by force if they resisted. During this time, some members of the Rose-Baley Party were killed by the Mojave.
The Mojave warriors retreated as Hoffman’s army approached. The army built a post called Camp Colorado without any fighting. Hoffman told the Mojave men to gather at the stockade on April 23, 1859, to hear his peace terms. He gave them the choice of surrendering or being wiped out. The Mojave chose to surrender. At that time, there were about 4,000 Mojave people in 22 clans.
Later, Camp Colorado was renamed Fort Mojave.
Changes and Choices
In 1861, the Civil War forced the military to leave Fort Mojave. The tribe’s leadership was changing. The Great Chief Homoseh awahot stepped down, and Yara tav, who wanted peace with the Americans, took his place. Yara tav had seen the Americans’ power when he traveled to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., to meet President Abraham Lincoln.
The Colorado River reservation was created in March 1865. The Mojave were supposed to live there under American law. Chief Yara tav led 500 to 800 Mojave to the new reservation in Parker Valley, even though he didn’t like the poor farmland.
The Fort Mojave reservation was created in 1870. Both reservations had important water rights in the Colorado River, which they used for farming. However, many Mojave refused to leave their ancestral homes in the Mojave Valley. The government didn’t try to force them onto the reservation, so the Mojave in that area were able to live their traditional lives.
Assimilation
After the Indian Wars ended in 1890, the War Department withdrew its troops, and the post was given to the Office of Indian Affairs.
In August 1890, the Office of Indian Affairs started an intensive program to make the Native Americans more like white Americans. The fort became a boarding school for the Fort Mojave and other Native American children. The goal was to get rid of their native language and culture.
The Mojave and other Native American children were forced to go to boarding schools where they had to learn English.
This program was based on the idea that it was the only way for Native Americans to survive. A law was passed that made education mandatory. Children who didn’t go to school were often whipped and locked in an attic for days with only water and bread.
This assimilation program broke up tribal cultures and governments. Besides English, the schools taught American culture and customs. The children had to cut their hair, wear European-American clothes, and follow American eating habits, manners, and language. They were punished for using their own language or customs. At Fort Mojave, the first offense was punished with five lashes of the whip. The Mojave were shocked by this corporal punishment because they didn’t discipline their children that way.
As part of the assimilation, the administrators gave the children English names. They were registered as members of one of two tribes: the Mojave Tribe on the Colorado River Reservation and the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe on the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation. These divisions didn’t reflect the traditional Mojave clan system.
The Native Americans were taught Anglo farming methods, but they didn’t have any land. Many of them went to work for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad (later the Santa Fe Railroad), which came to Needles in 1883. Others worked on river boats and in the mines. Some sold beadwork and pottery dolls to tourists. The Mojave became urban Indians living in Needles.
By 1910, the tribe’s population was about 1,050.
In 1911, Fort Mojave was granted a reservation consisting of the old military reserve on the California and Nevada sides of the Colorado River, about 31,300 acres.
The boarding school closed in 1931, and the children started going to school in Needles.
In the 1930s, George Devereux, an anthropologist, lived among the Mojave and published a lot about their culture.
In 1936, a big flood washed away Mojave homes in Arizona and Needles, California. To replace these homes, a new village was built outside Needles in 1947 on land bought by the tribe.
In 1957, the Fort Mojave Constitution was approved, creating a seven-member tribal council.
By 1963, the tribe’s population had shrunk to about 988, with 438 at Fort Mojave and 550 at the Colorado River Reservation.
By the late 1960s, 18 of the 22 traditional clans had survived.
In 1994, about 75 people on the Colorado River and Fort Mojave reservations spoke the language. The tribe has published language materials, and they’re making new efforts to teach the language to children.
The ruins of Fort Mojave are still there today as a reminder of the troubled relationship between the Mojave and American civilization. The ruins are on a bluff overlooking the Colorado River south of Bullhead City.
Today
Today, the Mojave and the Chemehuevi, some Hopi, and some Navajo share the Colorado River Indian Reservation and function as one group known as the Colorado River Indian Tribes. Each tribe keeps its own traditions, religions, and cultures.
The Colorado River Indian Tribes headquarters, library, and museum are in Parker, Arizona. The Colorado River Indian Tribes Native American Days Fair & Expo is held every year in Parker during the first week of October. The Megathrow Traditional Bird Singing & Dancing event is also celebrated every year on the third weekend of March.
The Fort Mojave Indian Reservation is along the Colorado River near Needles, California. It covers about 42,000 acres in Arizona, California, and Nevada. The land is divided into three main parts: 23,669 acres in Mojave County, Arizona; 12,633 acres near Needles, California; and 5,582 acres in Clark County, Nevada. The tribal headquarters are in Needles, California.
There are plenty of things to do, like gambling at one of the two tribal casinos, boating or fishing on the Colorado River, staying at the Avi Resort & Casino, golfing at the Mojave Resort PGA Championship Golf Course, or staying in the RV parks near the casinos.
The Mojave people have faced many challenges, but they have persevered and are working to preserve their culture and traditions for future generations.