The Cocopah (

Cocopah The Cocopah ( Cocopah: Xawitt Kwñchawaay) are Native Americans who live in Baja California, Mexico, and Arizona, United States. In the United States, Cocopah people belong to the federally recognized Cocopah Tribe of Arizona. Name The ...

: Xawitt Kwñchawaay) are Native Americans who live in

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

, Mexico, and

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, United States. In the United States, Cocopah people belong to the

federally recognized This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...

Cocopah Tribe of Arizona The Cocopah Indian Reservation is the reservation of the federally recognized Cocopah Indian Tribe (Cocopah: Xawiłł Kwñchawaay), which represents Cocopah peoples in the United States. As of the 2000 census a resident population of 1,025 pe ...

Name

The Cocopah are also called the Cucapá (in Cocopa: Kwapa or Kwii Capáy. This translates as "Cloud People," referring to the

fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus, and is heavily influ ...

along the Colorado River).

Language

The

Cocopah language Cocopah is a Delta language of the Yuman language family spoken by the Cocopah. Cocopah is believed to have derived from the Hokan language, and it is related to the other Native American languages of Mojave and Kumeyaay. Cocopah is considered ...

belongs to the Delta–California branch of the Yuman family. The Spanish term for Cocopah is ''Cucapá''. Their self-designation is Xawiƚƚ kwñchawaay, translating to “Those Who Live on the Cloudy River” (from ''Xawíƚƚy'' - "river", ''kwii'' - "cloud", ''(ny)way'' - "to live", ''llyay/nyaam'' - "many"). According to the US Census, there were 1,009 Cocopah in 2010.

History

Precontact

Ancestors of the Cocopah inhabited parts of present-day

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, and

and are known by western academics as belonging to the Patayan culture. Patayan is a term used by archaeologists to describe prehistoric Native American cultures who inhabited parts of modern-day

, west to

Lake Cahuilla Lake Cahuilla ( ; also known as Lake LeConte and Blake Sea) was a prehistoric lake in California and northern Mexico. Located in the Coachella and Imperial valleys, it covered surface areas of to a height of above sea level during the Hol ...

, and in

, between 700 and 1550 A.D. This included areas along the

Gila River The Gila River (; O'odham ima Keli Akimel or simply Akimel, Quechan: Haa Siʼil, Maricopa language: Xiil) is a tributary of the Colorado River flowing through New Mexico and Arizona in the United States. The river drains an arid watershed of ...

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

and in the

Lower Colorado River Valley The Lower Colorado River Valley (LCRV) is the river region of the lower Colorado River of the southwestern United States in North America that rises in the Rocky Mountains and has its outlet at the Colorado River Delta in the northern Gulf of C ...

, the nearby uplands, and north to the vicinity of the

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...

.They are mostly likely ancestors of the Cocopah and other Yuman-speaking tribes in the region. The Patayan peoples practiced

floodplain agriculture A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

where possible and relied heavily on

hunting and gathering A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...

Post-contact

The first significant contact of the Cocopah with Europeans and Africans probably occurred in 1540, when the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

explorer

Hernando de Alarcón Hernando de Alarcón (born 1500) was a Spanish explorer and navigator of the 16th century, noted for having led an early expedition to the Baja California Peninsula, during which he became one of the first Europeans to ascend the Colorado River ...

sailed into the Colorado River delta. The Cocopah were specifically mentioned by name by the expedition of

Juan de Oñate Juan de Oñate y Salazar (; 1550–1626) was a Spanish conquistador from New Spain, explorer, and colonial governor of the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México in the viceroyalty of New Spain. He led early Spanish expeditions to the Great ...

in 1605.

Post-Mexican cession

After the

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

, Cocopah lands were split between the US and Mexico through the

Mexican Cession The Mexican Cession ( es, Cesión mexicana) is the region in the modern-day southwestern United States that Mexico originally controlled, then ceded to the United States in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 after the Mexican–American W ...

resulting from the

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ( es, Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo), officially the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement between the United States of America and the United Mexican States, is the peace treaty that was signed on 2 ...

. Westward expansion in the 1840s and the discovery of gold in California in 1849 brought many migrants through the area near the mouth of the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon region. The strategic importance of the river crossing was recognized by the U.S. government, and the United States Army established Camp Independence in 1850 to protect the entry route through the tribe's territories. Many tribes along the Colorado River entered the ferry business given its profitability, creating many jobs for the Cocopah. The Cocopah agreed to join Garra's Tax Revolt of 1851, led by the

Cupeño The Cupeño (or Kuupangaxwichem) are a Native American tribe of Southern California. They traditionally lived about inland and north of the modern day Mexico–United States border in the Peninsular Range of Southern California. Today thei ...

, to fight against the US government alongside the

Quechan The Quechan (or Yuma) ( Quechan: ''Kwatsáan'' 'those who descended') are a Native American tribe who live on the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation on the lower Colorado River in Arizona and California just north of the Mexican border. Despite t ...

and nearby

Kumeyaay The Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai or by their historical Spanish name Diegueño, is a tribe of Indigenous peoples of the Americas who live at the northern border of Baja California in Mexico and the southern border of California in the Unit ...

bands. Together, the Cocopah sieged Camp Independence but the siege fell apart after disputes with the Quechan over the distribution of sheep confiscated from white sheepherders earlier. The Cocopah also entered the

Yuma War The Yuma War was the name given to a series of United States military operations conducted in southern California and what is today southwestern Arizona from 1850 to 1853. The Quechan (also known as Yuma) were the primary opponent of the United ...

following the tax revolt initially on the side of the Quechan against the US. After making peace with the US, the Cocopah allied with the Paipai and Halyikwamai and turned against the Quechan, after accumulating tension between the two tribes. War broke out in May 1853, when the Cocopah besieged three Quechan villages holding them hostage. In retaliation, the Quechan-allied Mohave backed the Quechan and raided the Cocopah. The Yuma War came to an end when the US threatened the Mojave that they would intervene on the side of the Cocopah.

Cocopah in the Mexican Revolution

During the Mexican Revolution, the

Magonistas Magonism ( es, Magonismo) is an Anarchy, anarchist, or more precisely Anarchist communism, anarcho-communist, Anarchist schools of thought, school of thought precursor of the Mexican Revolution of 1910. It is mainly based on the ideas of Ricardo ...

gained the support of the Cocopah, under the influence of Camilo Jiménez, who was the tribal leader of the Cocopah in the Mexicali Valley. The Cocopah were sympathetic of the Magonist struggle against imperialism from both Mexico and the US, and the privatized ownership of their land. The Cocopah were joined by the Paipai, Kiliwa, and Kumeyaay, and prepared to fight alongside the Magonistas, as Jiménez smuggled US arms to Mexico with the support of the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines general ...

(IWW).Muñoz, Gabriel Trujillo (2012). ''La utopía del norte fronterizo: La revolución anarcosindicalista de 1911''. San Ángel, Del. Álvaro Obregón, México, 01000, D. F: Instituto Nacional de Estudios Históricos de las Revoluciones de México. pp. 30–31. . On January 29, the Magonistas and the Cocopah captured Mexicali and provided further logistical support throughout their lands. Jiménez carried out a campaign with the Cocopah, Paipai, and Kiliwa armies from El Rosario to Ensenada, raiding small towns and looting Chinese-Mexican businesses. The Cocopah were eventually defeated by the Mexican forces in the following months and were forced off of their land by the Colorado River Land Company.

Modern era

In 1964, the Cocopah Tribe of Arizona, on the US side of the border, ratified its first constitution and formed a five-person Tribal Council in the

Cocopah Indian Reservation The Cocopah Indian Reservation is the reservation of the federally recognized Cocopah Indian Tribe (Cocopah: Xawiłł Kwñchawaay), which represents Cocopah peoples in the United States. As of the 2000 census a resident population of 1,025 pers ...

. In the late 1970s and 1980s, the tribe acquired additional land, constructed homes, installed utilities, developed infrastructure, and initiated economic development.

Cocopah Tribe of Arizona

Cocopah peoples in the United States are enrolled in the Cocopah Tribe of Arizona. As of the 2000 United States Census, the Cocopah Tribe of Arizona numbered 891 people. There is a casino, speedway, resort, family entertainment center and bingo hall on the reservation as well as a Museum and Cultural Center. Another Yuman group, the

, lives in the adjacent

Fort Yuma Indian Reservation The Fort Yuma Indian Reservation is a part of the traditional lands of the Quechan people. Established in 1884 from the former Fort Yuma, the reservation, at , has a land area of in southeastern Imperial County, California, and western Yuma Coun ...

. On important occasions, Cocopah people wear their customary ribbon shirts and ribbon dresses.

Settlements

Cocopah people live in

Mexicali Municipality Mexicali Municipality is a municipality (Mexico), municipality ( es, link=no, municipio) in the Mexican States of Mexico, state of Baja California. Its municipal seat ( es, link=no, cabecera municipal) is located in the city of Mexicali. As of 20 ...

(settlements of Campo Camerina (Colonia Terrenos Indios), Campo del Prado (Colonia el Mayor), Campo Flores, Campo Sonora (Colonia Terrenos Indios), Colonia la Puerta, Comunidad Indígena Cucapá el Mayor jido el Mayor Ejido Cucapá Mestizo, Ejido Doctor Alberto Mota (El Indiviso), Ejido Durango, Ejido México, Familia Regalado (Ejido Sonora 2 Campos Nuevos), La Casa de las Curvas (Colonia el Mayor), Mexicali, Sainz Domínguez (Colonia el Mayor), and San Felipe) and San Luis Río Colorado Municipality,

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into 72 municipalities; the ...

(settlements of Pozas de Arvizu (La Reserva), and San Luis Río Colorado),

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

,https://www.inali.gob.mx/clin-inali/html/v_cucapa.html and in

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Notes

References

* Pritzker, Barry M. ''A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. .

External links

Cocopah Indian Tribe
official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Cocopah People Indigenous peoples of Aridoamerica Federally recognized tribes in the United States Native American tribes in Arizona Indigenous peoples in Mexico Colorado River tribes