Native American Tribe series.
Yavapai
An Apache tribe of the Yuman Family, they were popularly known as Apache Mohave and Mohave Apache, meaning "hostile or warlike Mohave." Before their removal to the Rio Verde Agency in May, 1873, the Yavapai claimed as its range, the Rio Verde Valley and the Black Mesa from the Salt River, as far as Bill Williams Mountains in western Arizona. They then numbered about 1,000. Earlier they ranged much farther west, as far west as the Colorado River, but, they were chiefly an interior tribe, living south of Bill Williams Fork as far as Castle Dome mountains above the Gila River. In the spring of 1875, they were placed under the San Carlos Apache Agency, where, in the following year, they numbered 618.
Writings of the time described the Yavapai men as tall and erect, muscular, and well proportioned; and the women as being stouter and handsomer than the Yuma. In 1900, most of the tribe drifted from the San Carlos Reservation and settled at their old home on the Rio Verde, including the abandoned Camp McDowell Military Reservation, which was assigned to their use on November 27, 1901. By 1903, they were said to number between 500 and 600 (but this number probably included some Yuma and Apache), scattered in small bands from Camp McDowell to the head of the Rio Verde.
By an executive order of September 15, 1903, the old reservation was set aside for their use. However, in 1905, the ravages of tuberculosis were reported to be largely responsible for a great number of deaths and by the following year, their numbers had been reduced. In 1906, there were officially reported 465 "Mohave Apache" at Camp McDowell and in the Upper Verde Valley of Arizona, and 55 at San Carlos for a total of 520.
Today, the Yavapai have three reservations in Arizona. The Yavapai-Prescott Tribe is located near in Prescott, Arizona on a reservation of about 1,500 acres. Established solely for the Yavapai in 1935, it originally comprised only 75 acres of the former Fort Whipple Military Reserve in central Arizona. The modern Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe continues to preserve the ancient culture of its ancestors and works diligently to achieve economic independence through numerous tribal enterprises, including a resort and two casinos. Tribal members today number about 160.
Mondo's NAT #646 - Yavapai
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