From Orioles to Airplanes: O’odham Traditional Cultural Properties and Traditions of Travel through the Western Papaguería

Summary

Ethnographic research conducted on Barry M. Goldwater Range East with members of the Tohono O’odham Nation identified a series of ancient and historic travel routes relevant in O’odham history and contemporary traditions. These routes range from ancient foot trails leading to the Sea of Cortez to historic wagon roads and modern highways connecting O’odham communities. The O’odham commemorate important places in their history through place-naming, storytelling, songs, and traditional cultural practices. These traditions show how places associated with memory and experience deeply influence the way people use the land, and how communities interact. Furthermore, this work gives insight to land managers, archaeologists, and other researchers about O’odham cultural memories of landscape, and demonstrates how preservation of and access to the land is significant for the retention and transmission of O’odham cultural values and practices.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage