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Showing 37 results for Tohono Oodham ...

Tumacácori National Historical Park

Melhok Ki (ocotillo and mud house)

Type: Place

The O'odham word for house is "ki" (kee). Melhok (pronounced moo' ro) is the word for the plant known in Spanish and English as "ocotillo." The particular structure that you see here is a modern construction of a traditional O'odham dwelling, made of mesquite timbers, ocotillo sticks, and mud.

Tumacácori National Historical Park

Tumacácori Mission - Lime Kiln

Type: Place

Lime plaster was used to protect adobe buildings from moisture. Tons of raw material had to be brought to the mission for processing so that a coat of plaster, often more than two inches thick, could be applied to the walls.

Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail

Gila River Indian Community

Type: Place

Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail

Mission San Xavier del Bac

Type: Place

Mission San Xavier del Bac is an important site along the Anza Trail and an iconic image of southern Arizona. It is located on the Tohono O'odham Nation and the mission church is intimately linked to the history of the people who have claimed this land as home for centuries.

Tumacácori - Anza Trail Junction

Type: Place

The Santa Cruz River has long been a highway of trade and travel. Prehistoric people followed the river to trade with neighbors. The O’odham farmed along the river, using the floodplain and low banks to grow crops. Later, missionaries and explorers would rely on these existing networks to colonize the area.

Tumacácori Visitor Center - Mission Model

Type: Place

The mission community included housing for the mission residents and the priest, workshops, class rooms, a cemetery, a mortuary chapel, an irrigation system, gardens, orchards, and grazing lands. In fact, a mission did not always have a church. Tumacácori was established as a mission in 1691, but it did not have a dedicated church building until 1756, over sixty years later.

Casa Grande Ruins

Type: Place

Rising from the Sonoran Desert floor near the Gila River is one of the largest prehistoric structures ever built in North America. Its purpose remains a mystery, though many have tried to understand and explain its existence. Members of the Anza expedition visited the site in October of 1775 and recorded the measurements of the ruins and transcribed a partial story narrated by an O'odham (Gila Pima) leader.

Santa Cruz River

Type: Place

The Santa Cruz River is an international waterway. It begins in the San Rafael Valley, flows southward into Mexico, then makes a U-turn back into the United States. Here, it flows from south to north, eventually joining the Gila River. The river creates essential habitat and a wildlife corridor for threatened and endangered species.

Ramadas of the Southwest

Type: Article

How did indigenous peoples of the Sonoran Desert stay cool? What is vernacular architecture and why is it relevant today? This article explores the history of ramada use by the Akimel O’odham and Tohono O’odham, describes the ramada built at the Desert Research Learning Center, and highlights the importance of constructing living spaces in harmony with the natural environment.

Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area

Type: Place

Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area celebrates the region’s natural resources, rich history, and heritage shaped by generations of Native American, Spanish, and Mexican cultures.

Saguaro National Park

Saguaro Cacti at Saguaro National Park

Type: Article

The Saguaro cactus is an iconic and unmissable feature of the Sonoran Desert landscape. The cactus stands out in the landscape, growing tall with thick, arm-like branches that extend from the trunk. The Saguaro has evolved to survive the harsh environment, through periods of heat, drought, and the occasional winter frost. Native peoples have long used almost every part of the Saguaro for construction materials, tools, food, and ceremony.

Arizona: Schoolhouse at Truxton Canyon Training School

Type: Place

The Schoolhouse at Truxton Canyon Training School, a boarding school constructed to assimilate Hualapai Indians, is located in Mohave County 15 miles southwest of the Hualapai Tribe’s offices in Peach Springs.

San Xavier del Bac Mission

Type: Place

As Spanish colonists moved northward from Mexico into present day Arizona claiming more land for New Spain, Jesuits founded a chain of missions along the Sonoran Mountain range. The San Xavier del Bac Mission, a National Historic Landmark, was founded in 1700 by Father Eusebio Kino, a Jesuit explorer who worked to spread Christianity in New Spain.