A Cultural Overview of the Yavapai and their Relation to Yuma Proving Ground

In 1998, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District was contracted by Yuma Proving Ground (YPG), Yuma Arizona, to research and write a cultural overview of the Yavapai tribe which would illustrate that they were at one time located in the region of Yuma Proving Ground. Under various laws, regulations, and policies the U.S. Army is required to consult with Native American tribes and to protect Native American sacred sites and traditional cultural properties. Consultation between YPG and the Yavapai Tribe has taken place and because of this the tribe has indicated that they have several areas, located within YPG boundaries, they consider to be sacred and traditional properties.

This cultural overview will show the Yavapai Ind ians once occupied a large territory in what is now north central Arizona. Although the Yavapai territory also extended into southwest and northwest Arizona this report does not discusses these area. It will show the Yavapai relations with neighboring Indian groups along the Colorado and Gila Rivers including military alliances and rivalries, trade and resource sharing. Although few non-Indian entered Yavapai territory before the 1860s, after the 1860s large numbers of non-Indians invaded Yavapai territory in search of gold and farmland. This report will explain how Yavapai camps responded in different ways, how the presence of non-Indians disrupted the Yavapai economy, and how the United States military forced Yavapai families to move onto reservations and how they coped with this new way of life.