Frequently the late Dr. Clinton Pattea, Yavapai Nation President, would jokingly refer to the town of Fountain Hills as a suburb of his people’s land.

To better know our neighbors living on the 40-square-mile reservation, The River of Time Museum sponsors a guided tour focusing on the history and culture of the Yavapai people, extending into modern times with their fight for tribal sovereignty, gaming and voting rights.

The reservation was officially created on Sept. 15, 1903 on ancestral lands of the Yavapai people.

Sharon Brodhun and Bonnie Beth Folts, tour co-chairs, coordinated the first public tour on Feb. 22. Two other dates – March 22 and April 19 – have been scheduled.

The cost is $70 for museum members or $75 for the general public. The experience ends with lunch at the Ahnala restaurant at We-Ko-Pa Resort and Conference Center.

Reservations are accepted at the museum office, 480-837-2612, or by stopping in the museum from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.

Tour highlights

Lasting four to five hours, the tour begins at the museum where visitors hear about early Hohokam settlers’ reliance on water to live and building canals to move said water.

Mining, ranching and the development of Fort McDowell, an Army post during the Civil War, are briefly touched upon and a return visit is encouraged for more in-depth details.

The tour proceeds by school bus to the reservation to visit the Cultural Center and Ba Dah Mod Jo Cemetery, where Dr. Carlos Montezuma, a critic of health conditions among Native Americans, is buried. No photos were allowed in the cemetery where the marked graves are decorated.

Dr. Montezuma

En route, Yavapai Education Director Dr. Bill Myhr talked about Montezuma, who was kidnapped at the age of five and taken to Chicago where he graduated from Chicago Medical College. He was among the first Native American doctors.

After practicing medicine on several reservations, Montezuma became a strong critic of the poor health conditions among Native Americans. He urged the abolition of the Bureau of Indian Affairs so that Indians could manage their own affairs, lands, and resources.

He declined offers from President Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson to become Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

Cultural Center

Housed in a former Mormon Church, the center preserves the tribe’s historic documents and focuses on its culture.

Director Albert Nelson told about his people’s resistance in the 1970s to the federal government’s proposal to build a dam at the confluence of the Verde and Salt Rivers.

The community rejected a $33 million offer to sell 25 acres. The project, called the Orme Dam, would have flooded two-thirds of the reservation. The dam was never built.

Yavapai resistance again came into play in 1992. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents attempted to seize gaming devices in their casino established after passage of the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

The Yavapai assembled cars, trucks and earth-moving equipment to block access to the property and the removal of the gaming machines, said Nelson. An agreement was reached to allow the casino to operate after a three-week standoff.

The state ultimately was persuaded to sign a gaming contract with the tribe. It paved the way for Indian gaming in Arizona and Proposition 202, a sharing of gaming revenue with the state of Arizona and local governments to support specific state and local programs.

He also pointed out the 31 original, intricate, one-of-a-kind baskets made by Yavapai women from the Fort McDowell community.

Education

Education ranks high among the Nation’s priorities, beginning with infants and continuing to post-high school. The Nation pays for tuition, textbooks and $300 a month living stipend for college and vocational students beyond high school.

Myhr said 85 adults are currently engaged in higher educational or vocational programs. His goal, he said, is to have more tribal members working in higher paying jobs.

Youngsters attending H’man ‘shawa Early Childhood Center are fed a free breakfast and lunch.

A program also exists to preserve the Yavapai language.