Holdings related to the Paiute, whether associated with the contemporary San Juan Southern Paiute reservation, located on severally across the northern portion of the Navajo Nation, or the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians on the Arizona‐Utah border, are few. The San Juan Southern Paiute were federally recognized by administrative action in 1989. Three collections contain materials relevant to the Paiutes, including the Bridgeport Indian Colony of California (Miwok, Mono, Paiute, Shoshone, and Washoe). The Chemehuevi, a Southern Paiute people, appear separately in this guide and accompanying spreadsheets.
Synonymy
Catherine Fowler and Ives Goddard observe “Paiute is a modification of a form borrowed into the English in the early nineteenth century, but its ultimate origin is uncertain.” (Fowler and Goddard in Handbook of North American Indians, v. 11, p. 393.) Southern Paiute people have used payu∙cimɨ (Paiute Indians) as an autonym, but the term appears not have its origins in Southern Paiute and likely is non‐ Paiute in origin. Southern Paiute uses the term nɨmɨ or nɨmɨ depending on dialect for “person” and nɨmɨncimɨ for the plural “people”.
Includes transcriptions of Dr. Corson’s diary and correspondence kept as a military physician; much bears on southwestern Arizona during the late nineteenth century. Also included are letters from Lt. John McEwen Hyde to Dr. Corson on conflict with the Chemehuevi. Incidental references to the Mohave and Paiute.
Includes correspondence from Native American Rights Fund (NARF), and from an attorney representing the Navajo and Hopi seeking DeConcini’s assistance with legal fees. The San Juan Band of Southern Paiutes concerned with Navajo‐Hopi Land dispute, prior to their federal recognition.
Includes a file on the Bridgeport, California, Northern Paiute community, then occupying lands sought in trust to preclude eviction.
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.
