Papagos

Papagos-kin to the Pimas, live on three reservations in Southern Arizona, their own reservation as large as the state of Massachusetts.

Papagos-"the bean people," tillers of the soil who refer to themselves as the "desert people," saw Fray Marcos de Niza come and go, saw the expedition of Coronado, and in the end of the 17th Century listened to the teachings of Father Kino and from the Spaniards acquired domestic animals, farm tools, wheat.

Papagos-never a warring Nation against the white man, they fought desperately to preserve their villages and their farm lands against the raiding Apaches, and often they took up arms to help the white man overcome their dreaded enemies.

Their lands extend through cloudless miles of desert terrain, where they live as farmers and as cattlemen, and their little villages are found by the water holes. Tillers of the soil, their livelihood is dependent on their own crops-corn, beans, squash, melons, Sonora wheat, and from crops of the desert the buds and joints of the chollo, spur pepper, the fruit of the saguaro cactus, and the fruit of the prickly pear.

The Papagos wrest their living from a stingy soil, and all members of the family group must work. Papago women excel in basket and pottery making. The young learn habits of industry, for that is the highest Papago virtue. Their social life is highly developed. Elaborate ceremonials are observed in most of their activities, and the medicine man holds great power over them.

Among the Papago people the family is the basic unit, a number of families make up a village, and one or more villages make a district. There are nine districts in the Papago reservation and one district each for the Gila Bend and the San Xavier reservation. Each district elects five or more councilmen, one of whom is the head man of the district and two of whom represent the district in the Papago council at Sells.

Their religion is a curious mixture of pagan, Roman Catholic, and Protestant. In some villages there is a religious organization known as the Sonora Catholic Church, whose members refuse to accept the American priests as Catholics, continuing with native priests or lay readers. In the census of 1936, there were 36 Sonora Catholic churches, thirteen Roman Catholic and five Presbyterian churches among the Papagos.

Because of the proximity of the Papagos to the Mexican border and because of the influences of the early Spaniards, the Papago life is closer to the Spanish than to the American. The Fiesta de San Francisco, held in October, in Magdalena, Sonora, attracts many of the Papagos to the festivities.

Papago cowboys with their remuda before a roundup. (Norman G. Wallace.) Industrious Papagos. The Papago Indians live on three reservations in southern Arizona. Physically, it is what is known as range and basin country. Their food supply consists mostly of products of the soil and range.

Papago Baskets. Papago women are famous for their baskets. Basket materials consist of devil's claw, yucca leaves, and bear grass. (Photo above, Norman G. Wallace; below. (U. S. Indian Service.)

At San Xavier. San Xaνier Mission, near Tucson, founded two centuries ago by Franciscans, still administers to the Papagos. Modern Papagos are generally Roman Catholic, although many of the ancient religious beliefs of the Papagos still survive. (Chuck Abbott.) Papago Village. A Papago village is a picturesque place deep in the southern Arizona desert. The Papagos use adobes in their dwellings. Attached to each dwelling is an outdoor arbor ог remada where most of the home activities take place. (Max Kegley.)