The Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation (
Yavapai
The Yavapai are a Native American tribe in Arizona. Historically, the Yavapai – literally “people of the sun” (from ''Enyaava'' “sun” + ''Paay'' “people”) – were divided into four geographical bands who identified as separate, i ...
: A'ba:ja), formerly the Fort McDowell Mohave-Apache Community of the Fort McDowell Indian Reservation, is a
federally recognized tribe and
Indian reservation in
Maricopa County, Arizona
Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 4,420,568, making it the state's most populous county, and List of the most populous counties in the ...
about northeast of
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
.
The reservation was officially created on September 15, 1903 by
executive order
In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of t ...
, on a small parcel carved from the ancestral lands of the Yavapai people, encompassing .
The acreage had been part of the Fort McDowell Military Reserve, which had been an important outpost during the
Apache Wars. The original inhabitants of the reservation were members of the
kwevikopaya, or Southeastern Yavapai, who lived in the nearby
Mazatzal-Four Peak and
Superstition Mountains
The Superstition Mountains ( yuf-x-yav, Wi:kchsawa) is a range of mountains in Arizona located to the east of the Phoenix metropolitan area. They are anchored by Superstition Mountain, a large mountain that is a popular recreation destination fo ...
area.
In the 1970s, there was a proposal to build a dam at the confluence of the Verde and Salt Rivers. Due to the negative effects such a dam would have had on the reservation, the community voted not to sell the land for the dam to the federal government. What would have been called the "Orme Dam" was never built.
The reservation celebrates this victory with a
rodeo and
pow wow each November.
After the passage of the 1988
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (, ''et seq.'') is a 1988 United States federal law that establishes the jurisdictional framework that governs Indian gaming. There was no federal gaming structure before this act. The stated purposes of the ac ...
, a casino was built on the reservation. In 1992, agents of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
attempted to seize the gaming devices of the casino. This raid took place in conjunction with raids at four other Indian reservations throughout the country. While the raids at the other four reservations went unopposed, members of the Yavapai tribe organized a protest. Using cars, trucks, and large mobile earth moving equipment, they blocked the egress from the property, preventing the trucks from carting off the machines. An agreement was reached between the tribe and Governor
Fife Symington
John Fife Symington III (; born August 12, 1945) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 19th governor of Arizona from 1991 until his resignation in 1997. A member of the Republican Party, he resigned from office following con ...
allowing the casino to remain in operation.
In 2018, the Tribe began construction on the new 166,341-square-foot casino which opened in 2020.
The outside communities of
Fountain Hills and
Rio Verde lie adjacent to the reservation. In addition to Rio Verde and Fountain Hills, the reservation's economy is also closely tied to the nearby cities of
Mesa
A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by a ...
,
Scottsdale and
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
. Also in the area is the
Salt River Indian Reservation of the Pima and Maricopa peoples. The tribe operates its own gas station, a large sand and gravel operation, a farm, and the Fort McDowell Casino.
Other operations on the reservation include the Wekopa Resort and Conference Center, the Poco Diablo hotel, the Wekopa Golf Course, and Fort McDowell Adventures.
The area now occupied by the reservation was the birthplace of the Native American activist,
Carlos Montezuma
Carlos Montezuma or Wassaja (c. 1866 – January 31, 1923) was a Yavapai-Apache Native American, activist and a founding member of the Society of American Indians. His birth name, Wassaja, means "Signaling" or "Beckoning" in his native tongue. W ...
, who founded the
Society of American Indians
The Society of American Indians (1911–1923) was the first national American Indian rights organization run by and for American Indians. The Society pioneered twentieth century Pan-Indianism, the movement promoting unity among American Indians ...
.
Ba Dah Mod Jo Cemetery
The Ba Dah Mod Jo Cemetery is also referred to as the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation Tribal Cemetery. It was where the soldiers who were stationed in Fort McDowell and who perished were buried. The remains of the "Anglos" who were buried there were later transferred to El Presidio Cemetery in San Francisco after the land was ceded to the Yavapai Nation.
References
External links
Official site of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation
Apache tribes
American Indian reservations in Arizona
Geography of Maricopa County, Arizona
Cemeteries in Arizona
Yavapai
Mohave tribe
Federally recognized tribes in the United States
1900 establishments in Arizona Territory