Our Official

Land Acknowledgement

We Have Been Here for Time Immemorial: Our Plea to End Erasure of Our People

In 2017 the Tohono O'odham Student Association was asked to develop a land acknowledgement for The University of Arizona's Tribal Relations Office. While the acknowledgment TOSA drafted was not used by The University of Arizona or the UA Tribal Relations Office the Tohono O'odham Student Association still prefers the utilization of the words we drafted below because they reflect our ties to the land The University of Arizona and City of Tucson was built on.

Despite the multiple intrusions and occupations of the Tohono O'odham ancestral lands by the Spanish, Mexicans, Mexican Americans, Anglo Americans, and non-Tohono O'odham tribes it is important to acknowledge the Tohono O'odham as the original inhabitants of the region. We are the descendants of the Huhugam (or Hohokam) thus we, the Tohono O'odham have been here for time immemorial. Anthropologists refer to our ancestors as the "Hohokam" whose presence are visible in the landscape through prehispanic canals, pit houses, rock art, alteration of the landscape for agriculture, and in our ancestors 2,500 year-old footprints (Very Distinct Native American 2,500-year-old Footprints Found in Tucson Arizona). Archaeological evidence of the Tohono O'odham ancestors, the Huhugam continues to be unearthed as the City of Tucson and surrounding towns like Oro Valley, Vail, and Three Points expand. Tohono O'odham oral knowledge and scientific evidence demonstrate the long standing occupation of this region by the Tohono O'odham and our ancestors. We, the Tohono O'odham have been here for thousands of years before the present and we are still here. We ask that you acknowledge us as a separate distinct group and the original inhabitants of this region.

Our deep in time connections to the City of Tucson and the region exceed those of the peoples who now call Tucson and southern Arizona home. Because of our deep in time connections to the land TOSA asks that individuals, organizations, and entities use the following to acknowledge that you/they/them are on the ancestral lands of the Tohono O'odham...

✅ We acknowledge our presence on Tohono O'odham ancestral lands.

✅ We acknowledge our presence on ancestral lands of the Tohono O'odham.

✅ I acknowledge my presences on the ancestral lands of the Tohono O'odham.

✅ I am on the ancestral lands of the Tohono O'odham.

✅ We are on the ancestral lands of the Tohono O'odham.

✅ You are on the ancestral lands of the Tohono O'odham.

✅ I am on Tohono O'odham land.

✅ You are on Tohono O'odham land.

✅ We are on Tohono O'odham land.

✅ This is Tohono O'odham land.


____________________ORIGINAL 2017 DOCUMENT____________________

OPENING STATEMENT


We, members of the Tohono O’odham Student Association (TOSA), Tohono O’odham students at The University of Arizona present the following statement expressing the connections Tohono O’odham have to The University of Arizona, for time immemorial.


UA ACKNOWLEDGMENT STATEMENT DRAFTED AND ENDORSED BY THE TOHONO O’ODHAM STUDENT ASSOCIATION


We acknowledge our presence on Tohono O'odham ancestral lands.

S-ma:c ‘ac mac ‘an Tohono O’odham ha-jeweḍga da:m oyopo.


The presence of the Tohono O’odham are seen archaeologically in the floodplains of the Santa Cruz and in the pit house structures atop Tumamoc Hill (Cumamc Do’ag) and in the courses taught at The University of Arizona today. The University of Arizona is home to the first Tohono O’odham linguist and poet, Regents’ Professor Dr. Ofelia Zepeda and is the first state university to offer Tohono O’odham language as a course, a course which many Tohono O’odham and non-O’odham UA students take every year. The University of Arizona is also home to the first Tohono O’odham student club, the Tohono O’odham Student Association.

For time immemorial the Tohono O’odham have been part of this landscape and the University of Arizona. Participating in the very construction of the University the Tohono O'odham laid the bricks of what is today Herring Hall and Old Main—two of the University's most meaningful and founding structures. The first Native American to graduate from the University of Arizona was Christine Garcia, Tohono O'odham from the Garcia Strip community. During Garcia's time at the University of Arizona, she played on the University of Arizona ‘s women’s hockey and baseball honor teams and went on to graduate in 1930 with a bachelor’s degree in Home Economics.

The rich history and connection the Tohono O’odham have to The University of Arizona is visible in the land. The saguaro, agave, ocotillo, and creosote bush used to beautify the UA campus are sacred plants to the Tohono O’odham. The mountains that surround UA and contribute to the advancement in studies of the Southwest at UA are the homes of our ancestors. Babad Do’ag (Frog Mountain) also known as Mt. Lemon, Cemamagǐ Do’ag (Horned Toad Mountain) also known as Tumamoc Hill, Towa Kuwo (Turkey Neck) also known as the Santa Rita Mountains are just several of the many mountain ranges important to Tohono O’odham culture and identity. Our connection to the land is living and breathing in us here in Cuk Ṣon (Black Base) also known as Tucson and we use this connection to the land and our ancestors to guide our studies at The University of Arizona.

While this history and deep connection Tohono O’odham have to this landscape are still being revealed to the U of A and Tucson community, the Tohono O’odham at the University of Arizona hope to continue contributing and educating the UA and Tucson community about our deep in time and continuing connection to this region.


The Tohono O’odham Student Association Contributors:

Angela F. Martin, BS in Literacy, Learning and Leadership BA in American Indian Studies (2018), 2017-2018 TOSA President - Comobabi, Schuk Toak District, Tohono O’odham Nation

Victoria Thomas, undergraduate in Literacy, Learning and Leadership, 2017-2018 TOSA Vice President - Wa:k, San Xavier District, Tohono O’odham Nation

Crystal A. Owl, undergraduate studying pre-law, 2017-2018 TOSA Secretary - San Lucy District, Tohono O’odham Nation

Katrina Antone, undergraduate studying mathematics, 2017-2018 TOSA Treasurer - Eloy, Gu Achi District, Tohono O'odham Nation

Jacelle E. Ramon-Sauberan, Ph.D. student in American Indian Studies - Wa:k, San Xavier District, Tohono O'odham Nation

Lisa S. Palacios, Ph.D. student in the School of Anthropology, South Komelic, Baboquivari District, Tohono O’odham Nation

Jesse Navarro, former University of Arizona Tribal Relations Senior Program Coordinator, Cold Fields, Baboquivari District, Tohono O'odham Nation

Multiple Settlers...

  • Those who came in name of the Spanish Crown

  • Mexicans (primarily ranchers seeking more arable land having been pushed out of Northern Mexico)

  • Anglo Americans seeking to homestead and mine

  • Yoeme (Yaqui) Peoples' seeking refuge from prosecution in their homelands for being Yoeme

    • In the 1970's the Tohono O'odham Nation (then known as the Papago) assisted the Pascua Yaqui Tribe in obtaining federal recognition in the United States having sympathized with their desire to have a place of their own. The Tohono O'odham accompanied the Pascua Yaqui to hearings in Washington D.C. which ultimately led to their recognition. Historically, the Tohono O'odham were known to the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) as being "good Indians" which allowed their support for the Pascua Yaqui to be heard in D.C. It was also this valued characteristic of the Tohono O'odham held by the BIA that led to the Tohono O'odham obtaining the second largest reservation in the state of Arizona. Additionally, unlike many other federally recognized tribes the BIA's revere and respect for the Tohono O'odham allowed them to maintain their traditional village and district boundaries and avoid allotment.

    • The land given to the Pascua Yaqui was 1 square mile. This 1 square mile was offered by the Tohono O'odham and was formerly used by the Tohono O'odham located in San Xavier, District, Tohono O'odham Nation. Present day and historic maps of the area show a wash called "Black Wash." Black Wash is associated with the San Xavier Tohono O'odham sacred mountain called Black Mountain. Both Black Mountain and Black Wash were used by the Tohono O'odham in San Xavier for time immemorial and were once surrounded by Tohono O'odham settlements in every direction. Present day boundaries of the San Xavier District do not express the extent of Tohono O'odham occupation prior to the settlement of non-O'odham.

Huhuham = those who are no longer here, the Tohono O'odham ancestors

Present day Tohono O'odham will one day be the Huhugam to future generations of Tohono O'odham. For example, my grandfather who recently passed away is now my Huhugam.

Hohokam = the belongings, bodies, and places anthropologists study. Anthropologists and archaeologists needed a term to describe what they were coming across archaeologically here in the Southwest. Our ancestors traditions were different than those primarily studied in the Four Corners Region so in the early 20th Century archaeologists and anthropologists decided to use a term used by our sister tribes' to the north. Our sister tribes' referred to the makers of pre-Spanish and pre-Anglo American traditions as the "Huhugam." Like our sister tribes to the north the Ak Chin, Gila River Indian Community, and Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community we use the term "Huhugam" to describe our ancestors, those who are no longer here. Unlike our sister tribes, we do not believe there was a war against the Huhugam which we won. Instead, the Tohono O'odham believe we are the descendants of our Huhugam who passed down teachings like how to create water catchments, harvest desert foods, the location of trails leading to and from our villages in Mexico, and our language. There is no story indicating a war with our ancestors-- this narrative is specific to our sister tribes to the north.