Writing – Tohono O’odham of Arizona

Tohono O’odham of Arizona (An Informative Writing)

https://www.legendsofamerica.com/tohono-oodham-tribe/

 

The Tohono O’odham, are a Native American tribe of the Sonoran Desert who primarily live in Arizona and the Mexican state of Sonora. Tohono O’odham means “Desert People.” When the Spanish came upon them, they called them Papago, but the people themselves have rejected this name and officially changed it to Tohono O’odham in the 1980’s. 

These people were a settled tribe that raised crops including sweet Indian corn, beans, squash, lentils, and melons. They also took advantage of native plants, such as saguaro fruits, mesquite tree beans, cholla buds, and made mesquite candy from the sap of mesquite trees.

Mission San Xavier del Bac near Tucson, was built by the Tohono O’odham. Though the Catholic priests were there to Christianize the area Native Americans, the Tohono O’odham villages resisted change for hundreds of years. During and after Spanish rule, the desert people preserved their traditions and kept them largely intact for generations. Today, the beautiful church sits on the Tohono O’odham reservation.

It was not until American settlers began to move into Arizona territory that the outsiders began to oppress the people’s traditional ways. When territorial lands were opened under the Dawes Act of 1888, more missionaries came to the area building school and missions. Under U.S. Federal Native American policy from the late 19th century, the government required native children to attend Indian boarding schools, where they were forced to use English, practice Christianity, and give up much of their culture in an attempt to promote assimilation into the American mainstream. Though the Tohono O’odham never signed a treaty with the Federal Government, they were assigned to a reservation that incorporated a portion of their original Sonoran Desert lands. Most of the people live on the 2.7-million-acre reservation that lies in Pima, Pinal, and Maricopa Counties. With a population of more than 24,000 people, the reservation is the third-largest Native American reservation area in the United States, after the Navajo Nation and the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation.

 

Write about it! The history of the O’odham in Arizona is rich and was full of obstacles. Complete the following questions below. Citing at least 3 details from the passage, write (or type) a 3-5 paragraph essay to inform your readers about the O’odham in Arizona.

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List important vocabulary words you will use in your writing._______________________

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List transitional words or phrases you will use in your writing _____________________

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List three different way you plan on citing your evidence ________________________

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