Cocopah

Cocopah
Xawiƚƚ kwñchawaay

Middle Sky, Cocapah, photo by Frank A. Rinehart, 1899
Total population
1,009 in the United States (2010)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Mexico ( Baja California and  Sonora)  United States ( Arizona)
Languages
Cocopah, English, Spanish
Religion
Traditional tribal religion
Related ethnic groups
other Yuman peoples

A Cocopah man and a Cocopah woman

The Cocopah, also Cocopá or Kwapa, are Native Americans who live in Baja California and Sonora, Mexico, and in Arizona in the United States. The Cocopah language belongs to the Delta–California branch of the Yuman family. The Spanish term for Cocopah is Cucapá. Their self-designation is Xawiƚƚ kwñchawaay, translating to “Those Who Live on the River”. According to the US Census, there were 1,009 Cocopah in 2010.^[1]

History

Cocopah traditional territory on the Colorado River and the Gulf of California

Archaeologists refers to the prehistoric Native American cultures that inhabited parts of present day Arizona, California, and Baja California (including areas near the Colorado River Valley, the nearby uplands, and north to the vicinity of the Grand Canyon), as Patayan culture. They are mostly likely ancestors of the Cocopah and other Yuman-speaking tribes in the region. The Patayan peoples practiced floodplain agriculture where possible and relied heavily on hunting and gathering.

The first significant contact of the Cocopah with Europeans and Africans probably occurred in 1540, when the Spanish explorer Hernando de Alarcón sailed into the Colorado River delta. The Cocopah were specifically mentioned by name by the expedition of Juan de Oñate in 1605.

Cocopah Tribe of Arizona

Cocopah peoples in the United States are enrolled in the Cocopah Tribe of Arizona. As of the 2000 United States Census, the Cocopah Tribe of Arizona numbered 891 people.^[1] There is a casino and bingo hall on the reservation. Another Yuman group, the Quechan, lives in the adjacent Fort Yuma Indian Reservation. On important occasions, Cocopah people wear their customary grass skirts.

Notable Cocopah people

• Bravie Soto, A US Army Sargent who served with Recon Platoon, Echo, 2/39, 9 Infantry Division. He is often reported by family members and tribal historians to be the first Native American Casualty in the Vietnam War^[2]

Notes

References

• Pritzker, Barry M. A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0-19-513877-1.

Further reading

• Kelly, William H. (1977). Cocopa ethnography. Anthropological papers of the University of Arizona (No. 29). Tucson: University of Arizona Press. ISBN 0-8165-0496-2.

External links

• Cocopah Indian Tribe, official website

Indigenous peoples of Arizona
Contemporary peoples native to Arizona	Chemehuevi Chiricahua Cocopah Halchidhoma Havasupai Hopi Hualapai Maricopa Mohave Navajo Southern Paiute Pima Quechan Tewa Tohono O'odham Tonto Apache Southern Ute Western Apache Yaqui Yavapai Zuni
Prehistoric cultures in Arizona	Ancestral Pueblo dwellings Basketmaker Hohokam Mogollon Patayan Salado Sinagua
See also: List of Indian reservations in Arizona

Indigenous peoples of Mexico
More than 100,000 people	Nahua Maya Zapotec Mixtec Otomi Totonac Tzotzil Tzeltal Mazahua Mazatec Huastec Ch'ol Chinantec Purépecha Mixe Tlapanec Tarahumara
20,000–100,000 people	Mayo Zoque Chontal Maya Popoluca Chatino Amuzgo Tojolabal Huichol Tepehuán Triqui Cora Mam Yaqui Cuicatec Huave
1,000–20,000 people	Tepehua Kanjobal Pame Chichimeca Jonaz Guarijio Chuj Chocho Tacuate Mexicanero Ocuiltec Pima Bajo Jacaltec
Less than 1,000 people	Kekchí Lacandon Ixcatecos Seri K'iche' Motocintlec Kaqchikel Paipai Tohono O'odham Cocopah Kumiai Kikapú Cochimí Ixil Kiliwa Aguacatec Opata