Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation
{{Short description|American Indian Reservation}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
|group = Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation
|native_name = {{native name|yuf|A'baja}}
|caption = Location of Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation in Maricopa County, Arizona
| regions = {{USA}} ({{Flag|Arizona}})
|languages = Yavapai (three dialects of Upland Yuman language), English
|religions = traditional tribal religion, Christianity
|related = other Yavapai people, Havasupai, Hualapai, Mohave, Western Apache
}}
The Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation (Yavapai: A'ba:ja), formerly the Fort McDowell Mohave-Apache Community of the Fort McDowell Indian Reservation, is a federally recognized tribe and Indian reservation in Maricopa County, Arizona about {{convert|23|mi|km}} northeast of Phoenix.
The reservation was officially created on September 15, 1903, by executive order, on a small parcel carved from the ancestral lands of the Yavapai people, encompassing {{convert|24680|acre|km2|sigfig=2}}.{{cite web|url=http://itcaonline.com/?page_id=1154 |publisher=Inter Tribal Council of Arizona |title=Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation |access-date=November 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118104326/http://itcaonline.com/?page_id=1154 |archive-date=November 18, 2016 |url-status=dead }} The acreage had been part of the Fort McDowell Military Reserve, which had been an important outpost during the Apache Wars. The original inhabitants of the reservation were members of the kwevikopaya, or Southeastern Yavapai, who lived in the nearby Mazatzal-Four Peak and Superstition Mountains area. In the 1970s, there was a proposal to build a dam at the confluence of the Verde and Salt Rivers. Due to the negative effects such a dam would have had on the reservation, the community voted not to sell the land for the dam to the federal government. What would have been called the "Orme Dam" was never built. The reservation celebrates this victory with a rodeo and pow wow each November.{{cite web |url=http://www.fhtimes.com/news/local_news/rodeo-pow-wow-at-fort-mcdowell/article_7c527542-ade3-11e6-b662-2bd9f2893d7c.html |publisher=The Fountain Hills Times |title=Rodeo, Pow Wow at Fort McDowell |date=November 18, 2016 |access-date=November 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619002846/https://www.fhtimes.com/news/local_news/rodeo-pow-wow-at-fort-mcdowell/article_7c527542-ade3-11e6-b662-2bd9f2893d7c.html |archive-date=June 19, 2022 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=https://nativeamerica.travel/experiences/fort-mcdowell-orme-dam-victory-days-pow-wow |publisher=NativeAmerica.Travel |title=Fort McDowell Orme Dam Victory Days Pow Wow |access-date=November 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161120004959/https://nativeamerica.travel/experiences/fort-mcdowell-orme-dam-victory-days-pow-wow |archive-date=November 20, 2016 |url-status=dead }}
After the passage of the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, a casino was built on the reservation. In 1992, agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation attempted to seize the gaming devices of the casino. This raid took place in conjunction with raids at four other Indian reservations throughout the country. While the raids at the other four reservations went unopposed, members of the Yavapai tribe organized a protest. Using cars, trucks, and large mobile earth moving equipment, they blocked the egress from the property, preventing the trucks from carting off the machines. An agreement was reached between the tribe and Governor Fife Symington allowing the casino to remain in operation.{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/05/13/us/fbi-agents-raid-casinos-on-5-indian-reservations.html |work=New York Times |title=F.B.I. Agents Raid Casinos On 5 Indian Reservations |date=May 13, 1992 |access-date=November 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161120010812/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/05/13/us/fbi-agents-raid-casinos-on-5-indian-reservations.html |archive-date=November 20, 2016 |url-status=dead }}
In 2018, the Tribe began construction on the new 166,341-square-foot casino which opened in 2020.{{cite web |url=https://news.worldcasinodirectory.com/fort-mcdowell-yavapai-nation-plan-ground-breaking-for-new-casino-56331 |publisher=World Casino News |title=Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation plan ground breaking for new casino |date=June 17, 2018 |access-date=June 17, 2018 }}[https://www.wekopacasinoresort.com/about Casino – about]
The outside communities of Fountain Hills and Rio Verde lie adjacent to the reservation. In addition to Rio Verde and Fountain Hills, the reservation's economy is also closely tied to the nearby cities of Mesa, Scottsdale and Phoenix. Also in the area is the Salt River Indian Reservation of the Pima and Maricopa peoples. The tribe operates its own gas station, a large sand and gravel operation, a farm, and the Fort McDowell Casino. Other operations on the reservation include the Wekopa Resort and Conference Center, the Poco Diablo hotel, the Wekopa Golf Course, and Fort McDowell Adventures.{{cite web | url=http://www.fortmcdowelldestination.com/yavapai-nation/ | publisher=Fort McDowell Resort Destination | title=The Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation | access-date=November 19, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131123100123/http://www.fortmcdowelldestination.com/yavapai-nation/ | url-status=live | archive-date=November 23, 2013 }}
The area now occupied by the reservation was the birthplace of the Native American activist, Carlos Montezuma, who founded the Society of American Indians.
Ba Dah Mod Jo Cemetery
{{Lists of historic properties}}
The Ba Dah Mod Jo Cemetery is also referred to as the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation Tribal Cemetery. It was where the soldiers who were stationed in Fort McDowell and who perished were buried. The remains of the "Anglos" who were buried there were later transferred to El Presidio Cemetery in San Francisco after the land was ceded to the Yavapai Nation.{{Cite web |url=http://www.apcrp.org/SKELETON_CAVE/Skeleton%20Cave%20Massacre.htm |title=Arizona Pioneer & Cemetery Research Project |access-date=2017-01-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115021937/http://www.apcrp.org/SKELETON_CAVE/Skeleton%20Cave%20Massacre.htm |archive-date=2012-11-15 |url-status=dead }}
{{Clear}}
{{Gallery
|title=Ba Dah Mod Jo Cemetery
|width=180px
|height=200px
|align=center
|File: Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation-Ba Dah Mod Jo Cemetery-1.jpg |Entrance of the as "Ba Dah Mod Jo" Cemetery also known as the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation Cemetery.
|File: Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation--Ba Dah Mod Jo Cemetery-Carlos Montezuma grave-2.jpg |The grave of Carlos Montezuma or Wassaja in "Ba Dah Mod Jo" Cemetery.
|File: Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation--Ba Dah Mod Jo Cemetery-Mike Burns grave-2.jpg |The grave of Mike Burns, whose real name was Hoo-moo-thy-ah. He was the cousin of Carlos Montezuma. When he was a child he led the US Cavalry to Skeleton Cave where he witnessed the massacre of his people.
|File: Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation--Ba Dah Mod Jo Cemetery-Skeleton Cave grave-2.jpg|Grave dedicated to the men, women and children who were massacred by the soldiers of the US Army in Skeleton Cave.
|File: Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation--Ba Dah Mod Jo Cemetery- graves.jpg|Unidentified graves of the Yavapai who perished during the "Indian Wars".
}}
References
{{commons category|Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation}}
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.fmyn.org/ Official site of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation]
- {{GNIS|36978|Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation Reservation}}
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{{Indian reservations in Arizona}}
{{Apache people}}
{{Maricopa County, Arizona}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation}}
Category:American Indian reservations in Arizona
Category:Geography of Maricopa County, Arizona
Category:Cemeteries in Arizona