The Fort Mohave Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation along the Colorado River, currently encompassing in

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 ...

, in

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 in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

. The reservation is home to approximately 1,100 members of the federally recognized Fort Mojave Indian Tribe of Arizona, California, and Nevada ( mov, Pipa Aha Macav), a federally recognized tribe of

Mohave people Mohave or Mojave ( Mojave: 'Aha Makhav) are a Native American people indigenous to the Colorado River in the Mojave Desert. The Fort Mojave Indian Reservation includes territory within the borders of California, Arizona, and Nevada. The Colorado ...

. Native Americans occupy less than 50 percent of the Mojave reservation. The

have leased much of their land to

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

, corn, and soybean farming companies, which employ a large population of resident European-Americans and Mexican Americans. The site of the former

Fort Mohave Fort Mohave was originally named Camp Colorado when it was established on April 19, 1859 by Lieutenant Colonel William Hoffman during the Mohave War. It was located on the east bank of the Colorado River, at Beale's Crossing, near the head of ...

and the eastern terminus of the Mojave Road are situated within the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation.

History

These lands were occupied for thousands of years by succeeding cultures of Indigenous peoples. The property covers areas along the Colorado River of the three adjacent states of Arizona, California, and Nevada. It also is sporadically traversed by the

Mojave River The Mojave River is an intermittent river in the eastern San Bernardino Mountains and the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Most of its flow is underground, while its surface channels remain dry most of the time, ...

in California. The Fort Mohave Indian Reservation was established in 1890, and comprised the land of the former camp Mojave military reservation, thereby transferring it from the

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * D ...

to the Office of Indian Affairs. For decades until the early 1930s, it operated an Indian boarding school for Native American students from the Mohave and other tribes, as part of efforts to assimilate youth to the mainstream culture. They were forced to speak English and practice Christianity while at the school. The property was transferred to the reservation in 1935. It has allowed the buildings to deteriorate, as they were symbolic of a painful period in relations with the US.

Economy

The Mojave have leased considerable amounts of reservation land to agricultural companies for cultivation of commodity crops: soybeans, corn, and alfalfa. Many Caucasian and Mexican American workers live here, with less than 50% of the reservation occupied by Mohave and other Native Americans. From 1995 the tribe operates the Avi Resort & Casino in Nevada. On October 20, 2003, the reservation government announced an agreement between the reservation and California Governor Gray Davis to allow the operation of a

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

west of Needles, California (directly across the Colorado River from the Tribe's Arizona Reservation Lands).

Language revitalization

As of 2012, The Center for Indian Education at Arizona State University "has facilitated "workshops for both learners and speakers at the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation in northwest Arizona, California and Nevada. Fort Mojave has about 22 elders who speak some Mojave." The project is also bringing elders together with younger people to teach the traditional Mojave "bird songs." The language preservation work of poet

Natalie Diaz Natalie may refer to: People * Natalie (given name) * Natalie (singer) (born 1979), Mexican-American R&B singer/songwriter * Shahan Natalie (1884–1983), Armenian writer and principal organizer of Operation Nemesis Music Albums * ''Natal ...

on the reservation was featured on the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

''News Hour'' in March 2012.

Location

The Fort Mojave Indian Reservation is located at .

Education

The portion of the reservation in California is served by the Needles Unified School District and the portion in Nevada by the

Clark County School District The Clark County School District (CCSD) is a school district that serves all of Clark County, Nevada, including the cities of Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, and Boulder City; as well as the census-designated places of Laughlin, Blue ...

. For elementary education in Arizona, one of the portions served by the

Bullhead City Elementary School District Bullhead City School District #15 is a public school district based in Mohave County, Arizona Mohave County is in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 213,267. The county seat is ...

and the other by the

Mohave Valley Elementary School District Mohave Valley School District 16 is a school district in Mohave County, Arizona. The district draws students from Fort Mojave and Mohave Valley as well as the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation The Fort Mohave Indian Reservation is an Indian reserv ...

. Both portions in Arizona are served by the

Colorado River Union High School District The Colorado River Union High School District (also known as CRUHSD) is the high school district in Bullhead City, Arizona Bullhead City is a city located on the Colorado River in Mohave County, Arizona, United States, south of Las Vegas, Ne ...

for secondary education.

Communities

* Arizona Village, Arizona (part) *

Fort Mohave, Arizona Fort Mohave is an unincorporated community and CDP in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. It is named for a nearby fort that was used during the Mohave War. As of the 2020 census, the population of Fort Mohave was 16,190, up from 14,364 in 2 ...

(part) * Golden Shores, Arizona (part) * Mesquite Creek, Arizona *

Mohave Valley, Arizona Mohave Valley ('Amat' 'Analy Uuhwely in Mojave) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. The population was 2,693 at the 2020 census. It is geographically connected to Needles, ...

(part, population 121) * Mojave Ranch Estates, Arizona * Needles, California (part, population 208; seat of tribal government) * Willow Valley, Arizona (part)

References

External links

Official Tribe Website

Fort Mojave Reservation
Northern Arizona University
Fort Mojave Tribe
InterTribal Council of Arizona {{authority control American Indian reservations in Arizona American Indian reservations in California American Indian reservations in Nevada Populated places in Clark County, Nevada Populated places in Mohave County, Arizona Federally recognized tribes in the United States Communities in the Lower Colorado River Valley Colorado River tribes Populated places in San Bernardino County, California Arizona populated places on the Colorado River California populated places on the Colorado River