A handful of collections bear on the Chemehuevi, who reside with the Mohave and a smaller number of Navajo and Hopi on the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) reservation, situated on the Colorado River at the intersection of the Arizona‐California‐Nevada border. Chemehuevi are also enrolled as members of several federally‐recognized tribes in California. The Chemehuevi are a Southern Paiute people, but presented separately in this guide and accompanying spreadsheets.
Synonymy
“Paiute” comes to English from indigenous languages, but its origins are undetermined. The Chemehuevi are the southernmost of Southern Paiute people. “Chemehuevi” may be Yuman its origins; several peoples (e.g. Mohave, Havasupai, and Quechan) using similar terms. As a Mohave term, “Chemehuevi” refers to “people who play with fish.” Self‐identification has been rendered as Tantawait. A more general Southern Paiute self‐reference is Nuwu. See also Fowler and Goddard in Handbook of North American Indians, v. 11, pp. 393‐96.
Includes transcriptions of Dr. Corson’s diary and correspondence kept as a military physician. Letters from Lt. John McEwen Hyde to Dr. Corson on conflict with the Chemehuevi. Incidental references to the Mohave and Paiute.
Include material on dispersal of compensation from the Indian Claims Commission (ICC), and questions about Mohave compensation. Judgment for Arizona Chemehuevi excluded those in California. Other materials document Stewart L. Udall’s proposal of termination in exchange for federal development assistance, papers Morris Udall inherited. Later materials document CRIT concern with the implications of the Colorado River Floodway.
Contains materials that reference sharp divisions along tribal lines on the reservation. Other material includes clippings from Smoke Signals, the CRIT tribal newspaper.
Arizona Historical Society Materials
The materials located in this section can be found at the Arizona Historical Society Tucson location, an institution separate from the University of Arizona. There you can find manuscript materials, photographs, oral histories and books that highlight Indigenous life in the U.S./Mexico borderlands. This selection represents only a small fraction of the Arizona Historical Society's materials related to Indigenous life in the borderlands. Please contact their archivists for questions about additional materials.
