Pima Tribe Research Paper

A popular stereotype given to Native Americans is they are all savages and hunt animals in a very animalist way. This is false when it comes to the Pima tribe, or as they call themselves Akimel O’odham meaning “river people”(“Akimel O’odham (Pima)”). The Pima tribe is known for farming and being very peaceful people. They live in the Southern Arizona and Northern Mexico area on two reservations called Gila River and Salt River. This area in which they Pima people live is also the Sonoran Desert. Even though the culture of the Pima people are slowing dying out it is one that will live forever in history (“History and Culture”). The reason they will be remembered is because of their history, housing and clothing, religion, and agriculture.
The history of the Pima is very fascinating. The Pima Tribe is said to be descendants of the prehistoric Hohokams. They are also the oldest residents of Southwest America (“Akimel O’odham (Pima)”). What is most interesting about the Pima tribe is how it got its name. “When Spanish explorers first met the tribe, they asked the Indians many questions. The Indians answered Pi-nyi-match, or
‘I don't know’ to each question. The Spanish misunderstood and thought the Indians said Pima.” (Ryan and Schmittroth) The Spanish missionaries arrived in the 1960s and it completely changed the Pima tribe. The Spanish taught the Pima people to farming and Protestant faith. In 1859 the Gila River Reservation was established and later on in the 1800s welcomed the Maricopas to their land. A few of both tribes wanted to move elsewhere and that was the creation of the Salt River Reservation in 1879 (“Akimel O’odham (Pima)”).
The homes of Pima people reassemble those of Africa. The house of a Pima family was called a ki (Ryan and Schmittroth). Figure 1 to the right shows a ki and would look like in the early 1900s. They were in a cylindrical shape, or round with a flat roof (“Pima”). They were usually build with a wooden frames. Then they used the wooden frame to be the foundation of the home and to format the mud and sticks to cover it . Of course many of the Pima people don’t live in a home like this nowadays. They live in more modern styled homes, but there are a few of these ki that are still on the Reservation. The Pima tribe wore little to no clothing. They would wear animal skins and certain types of fabric (Ryan and Schmittroth).
The religion of the Pima tribe took a turn when the Spanish missionaries arrived. Before the coming of the Spanish, the Pima people had different beliefs. They believed in a supreme god, or as they called it “Prophet of the Earth”. The owl had a huge impact on their beliefs. Pimas thought the owl carried the soul from this world to the next world. Every time the owl hooted the Pima people believed someone was fixing to past or in the process of pasting away. The Pima tribe didn’t believe in the traditional marriage (Hodge, Fredrick). “Marriage among the Pima is entered into without ceremony and is never considered binding”(Hodge, Fredrick). The husband and wife were free to do whatever they wanted to(Hodge, Fredrick). All the belief that the Pima tribe had before was changed when the Spanish appeared. They started to believe in the Protestant faith and practicing it (“Akimel O’odham (Pima)”).
Agriculture had a big part in the everyday life of the Pima people.
The Spanish taught the Pima people how to farm and also introduced them to livestock (“Pima”). Many tribes want to revolt against the Spanish. The Pima tribe really didn’t care about revolting against the Spanish because they were kind to them and they were too busy with farming, so they stayed out of it. The diet of a Pima was based mostly of vegetation from their gardens and fields (Ryan and Schmittroth). Some crops that the Pima tribe produced was corn, tobacco, beans, squash, and cotton (“Pima”). The women would use the cotton to make water tight woven baskets (“History and Culture”). When there was not enough food to feed their families from only the vegetation, the Pima people were forced to go hunting for other food sources (Ryan and
Schmittroth). Even though the Pima tribe is dying out it will still be remembered by its history, housing and clothing, religion, and agriculture. It will be remembered by it intriguing way of how it got it tribe name. Also how the interaction with the Spanish changed their lives. Pima families live in house, or ki as they say.The wear very little clothing. They used to have more of nature and animal based of belief, but since the Spanish came they converted to the Protestant faith. The Pima tribe’s everyday life was centered around farming in which they learn from the Spanish. They harvested many crops and did created many things with them.The Pima tribe is based of farming and they are very peaceful people. The Pima tribe crushes the popular stereotype given to Native Americans that they are all savages and hunt animals in inhumane ways.