The Quoeech were a Native American group who lived in southern

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, ...

. When missionaries of

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first went to

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in 1855 they were contacted by Quoeech who lived at some distance from Las Vegas. Some of the Quoeech were later baptized. They were also known as the Diggers.

Identification

People who belong to the Quoeech are known as 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 th ...

. They are alternatively known as Yuma. They are familiar a
California Indian
people of the fertile

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 ...

valley who share a few of the traditions of th
Southwest Indians
The Quoeech used to reside at riverside hamlets. The houses built with log frameworks covered with sand, brush, or wattle and daub were among the structures they made. The word Quechan means ‘the people who descended by way of the water’.

Demography

In 1540, the population count of the Quoeech was about 4,000 before their contact with the Spaniards. The count reduced and reached around 1000 around the early 1900s. Their population was about 2000 in 1988, around two-thirds of the Quoeech used to live on or close to the reservation.

Economy

The Quoeech are mainly an

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

community. They own thousands of acres of agricultural land which they give on lease to Indian and non-Indian farmers. Their seasons include hot summer and less cold winter. The tribe own 5

trailers Trailer may refer to: a Transportation * Trailer (vehicle), an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle ** Bicycle trailer, a wheeled frame for hitching to a bicycle to tow cargo or passengers ** Full-trailer ** Semi-trailer ** Horse trai ...

and

RV park A recreational vehicle park (RV park) or caravan park is a place where people with recreational vehicles can stay overnight, or longer, in allotted spaces known as "sites" or "campsites". They are also referred to as campgrounds, though a true ...

s. They have a tribal police department and

court system A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accord ...

. The community also has 1

grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, ...

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and th ...

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 enterta ...

, utility company, a fish and game department, and a Seasonal parking lot in Andrade, CA. Besides agricultural use, and the sand and gravel operation, the augment of its economy counts on tourism and related businesses to tourism. In accordance with the most recently collected data of the Tribal Enrollment Office, the count of population of the Quoeech is 2475.

Linguistic Affiliation

Quechan language came from the Yuman sub-branch of the Hokan language family. But the members of the Quoeech tribe who live in the far southern parts of their area might have used a different dialect of the language.

References

Sources

*https://web.archive.org/web/20080206055823/http://www.nevadaobserver.com/Reading%20Room%20Documents/History%20of%20Las%20Vegas%20Mission%202%20(1926).htm *http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~eaglesnest/Histories/george-bean.html Native American tribes in Nevada {{Nevada-stub