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Indigenous Peoples in Arizona

Subject guide to Indigenous Peoples in Arizona, including links to their official websites and information about their history, reservations and governments.

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IMAGE: spiral sun symbol   Indigenous Peoples in Arizona  IMAGE: spiral sun symbol

Native Americans have inhabited what is now Arizona for thousands of years. It remains a state with one of the largest percentages of Native Americans in the United States, and has the second largest total Native American population of any state. In addition, the majority of the Navajo Nation, the largest Native American reservation in the US, and the entire Tohono O'odham Nation, the second largest, are located in Arizona. Over a quarter of the area of the state is reservation land.

Arizona is home to 22 Native American tribes that represent more than 296,000 people. A total of 20 Reservations cover more than 19,000,000 acres, ranging in size from the very large Navajo Reservation, which is the size of West Virginia or Ireland, to the small Tonto Apache Reservation that covers just over 85 acres.

Visitors who want to travel to Arizona reservations may do so without prior permission. But if you want to know where to buy arts and crafts or observe dances or rodeos, you should contact the tribal offices in advance of your travel. Many tribes today are committed to diversifying their economies so in addition to casinos, you can visit and enjoy tribally-owned shopping malls, RV parks and convenience stores, resort hotels and golf courses along with trying your luck at the tables and machines.

 

IMAGE: spiral healers hand LANGUAGES

Languages of First Nations Peoples spoken in Arizona

 

 

 

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Plains Indian Sign Language

Plains Indian Sign Language (PISL), also known as Plains Sign Talk, Plains Sign Language and First Nation Sign Language is a trade language, formerly trade pidgin, that was once the lingua franca across what is now central Canada, the central and western United States and northern Mexico, used among the various Plains Nations. It was also used for story-telling, oratory, various ceremonies, and by deaf people for ordinary daily use It is falsely believed to be a manually coded language or languages; however, there is not substantive evidence establishing a connection between any spoken language and Plains Sign Talk. The name 'Plains Sign Talk' is preferred in Canada, with 'Indian' being considered pejorative by many who are Indigenous. Hence, publications and reports on the language vary in naming conventions according to origin. As a result of several factors, including the massive depopulation and the Americanization of Indigenous North Americans, the number of Plains Sign Talk speakers declined from European arrival onward. In 1885, it was estimated that there were over 110,000 "sign-talking Indians", including Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Sioux, Kiowa and Arapaho. By the 1960s, there remained a "very small percentage of this number" There are few Plains Sign Talk speakers today in the 21st century.

 

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