Editing Cocopah

{{Short description|Native Americans living in Baja California and Sonora, Mexico, and Arizona in the USA}}
{{About|the people|the language|Cocopah language|the reservation|Cocopah Indian Reservation}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{infobox ethnic group
|group=Cocopah<br />Xawiƚƚ kwñchawaay
|image=[[File:Middle Sky, Cocapah.jpg|200px]]
|caption=Middle Sky, Cocapah, photo by [[Frank A. Rinehart]], 1899 (hand-colored)
| population = 1,009 in the United States (2010)<ref name="Census1">U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2010 Census 2010 American Indian and Alaska Native Summary File (AIANSF) - Sample Data, Cocopah Tribe of Arizona alone or in Combination, M22</ref>
|popplace={{flag|Mexico}}<br />({{flag|Baja California}} and {{flag|Sonora}}) <br />{{flag|United States}} ({{flag|Arizona}})
|langs=[[Cocopah language|Cocopah]], [[English language|English]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]]
|rels=Traditional tribal religion
|related=other [[Yuman]] peoples
}}
{{multiple image
 | width1 = 131
 | width2 = 150
 | image1 = Cocopah man American Indian Mongoloid.png
 | image2 = Cocopah woman American Indian Mongoloid.png
 | footer = A Cocopah man and a Cocopah woman by [[Cyrus Thomas]]
}}
The '''Cocopah''' ([[Cocopah language|Cocopah]]: '''Xawiƚƚ Kwñchawaay''') are [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] who live in [[Baja California (state)|Baja California]], Mexico, and [[Arizona]], United States.

In the United States, Cocopah people belong to the [[federally recognized]] [[Cocopah Tribe of Arizona]].

== Name ==
The Cocopah are also called the '''Cucapá''' (in [[Cocopah language|Cocopa]]: '''Kwapa''' or '''Kwii Capáy''').

== Language ==
The [[Cocopah language]] belongs to the Delta–California branch of the [[Yuman languages|Yuman family]]. Their self-designation is '''Xawiƚƚ kwñchawaay''', translating to “Those Who Live on the Cloudy River” (from ''Xawíƚƚy'' - "river", ''kwii'' - "cloud", ''(ny)way'' - "to live", ''llyay/nyaam'' - "many"). According to the U.S. Census, there were 1,009 Cocopah in 2010.<ref name="Census1"/>

Alternate spellings of Cocopah in Spanish documents include: Cócopa, Cócapa, Cócope, Cósopa, Cúcapa.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Barnes |first1=Thomas C. |last2=Naylor |first2=Thomas H. |last3=Polzer |first3=Charles W. |title=Northern New Spain: A Research Guide |publisher=University of Arizona |url=https://open.uapress.arizona.edu/read/northern-new-spain-a-research-guide/section/1f21260b-5632-4c85-a79f-dde8198f2c5c |access-date=10 May 2024}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Wohngebiet Cocopa.png|thumb|250px|Cocopah traditional territory on the [[Colorado River]] and the [[Gulf of California]]]]

===Precontact===
Ancestors of the Cocopah inhabited parts of present-day [[Arizona]], [[California]], and [[Baja California]] and are known by western academics as belonging to the [[Patayan culture]]. Patayan is a term used by archaeologists to describe prehistoric [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] cultures who inhabited parts of modern-day [[Arizona]], west to [[Lake Cahuilla]] in [[California]], and in [[Baja California]], between 700 and 1550 A.D. This included areas along the [[Gila River]], [[Colorado River]] and in the [[Lower Colorado River Valley]], the nearby uplands, and north to the vicinity of the [[Grand Canyon]]. They are mostly likely ancestors of the Cocopah and other Yuman-speaking tribes in the region. The Patayan peoples practiced [[floodplain agriculture]] where possible and relied heavily on [[hunter-gatherer|hunting and gathering]].

===Post-contact===
The first significant contact of the Cocopah with [[European colonization of the Americas|Europeans and Africans]] probably occurred in 1540, when the [[Spanish colonization of the Americas|Spanish]] explorer [[Hernando de Alarcón]] sailed into the Colorado River delta. The Cocopah were specifically mentioned by name by the expedition of [[Juan de Oñate]] in 1605.

====Post-Mexican cession====
After the [[Mexican–American War|Mexican-American War]], Cocopah lands were split between the U.S. and Mexico through the [[Mexican Cession]] resulting from the [[Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]].

Westward expansion in the 1840s and the discovery of gold in California in 1849 brought many migrants through the area near the mouth of the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon region. The strategic importance of the river crossing was recognized by the U.S. government, and the United States Army established Camp Independence in 1850 to protect the entry route through the tribe's territories. Many tribes along the Colorado River entered the ferry business given its profitability, creating many jobs for the Cocopah.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=About Us - Cocopah Indian Tribe|url=https://www.cocopah.com/about-us.html|access-date=2020-09-06|website=www.cocopah.com}}</ref>

The Cocopah agreed to join Garra's Tax Revolt of 1851, led by the [[Cupeño]], to fight against the U.S. government alongside the [[Quechan]] and nearby [[Kumeyaay]] bands. Together, the Cocopah sieged Camp Independence but the siege fell apart after disputes with the Quechan over the distribution of sheep confiscated from white sheepherders earlier.

The Cocopah also entered the [[Yuma War]] following the tax revolt initially on the side of the Quechan against the U.S. After making peace with the U.S., the Cocopah allied with the [[Paipai people|Paipai]] and Halyikwamai and turned against the Quechan, after accumulating tension between the two tribes. War broke out in May 1853, when the Cocopah besieged three Quechan villages holding them hostage. In retaliation, the Quechan-allied Mohave backed the Quechan and raided the Cocopah. The Yuma War came to an end when the U.S. threatened the Mojave that they would intervene on the side of the Cocopah.

====Cocopah in the Mexican Revolution====
During the Mexican Revolution, the [[Magonistas]] gained the support of the Cocopah, under the influence of Camilo Jiménez, who was the tribal leader of the Cocopah in the Mexicali Valley. The Cocopah were sympathetic of the Magonist struggle against imperialism from both Mexico and the U.S., and the privatized ownership of their land. The Cocopah were joined by the Paipai, [[Kiliwa people|Kiliwa]], and Kumeyaay, and prepared to fight alongside the Magonistas, as Jiménez smuggled US arms to Mexico with the support of the [[Industrial Workers of the World]] (IWW).<ref name=":1">Muñoz, Gabriel Trujillo (2012). ''La utopía del norte fronterizo: La revolución anarcosindicalista de 1911''. San Ángel, Del. Álvaro Obregón, México, 01000, D. F: Instituto Nacional de Estudios Históricos de las Revoluciones de México. pp. 30–31. {{ISBN|978-607-7916-83-3}}.</ref>

On January 29, the Magonistas and the Cocopah [[Capture of Mexicali|captured Mexicali]] and provided further logistical support throughout their lands. Jiménez carried out a campaign with the Cocopah, Paipai, and Kiliwa armies from [[El Rosario, Baja California|El Rosario]] to [[Ensenada, Baja California|Ensenada]], raiding small towns and looting [[Chinese Mexican|Chinese-Mexican]] businesses.<ref name=":1" />

The Cocopah were eventually defeated by the Mexican forces in the following months and were forced off of their land by the Colorado River Land Company.<ref name=":1" />

====Modern era====
In 1964, the Cocopah Tribe of Arizona, on the U.S. side of the border, ratified its first constitution and formed a five-person Tribal Council in the [[Cocopah Indian Reservation]]. In the late 1970s and 1980s, the tribe acquired additional land, constructed homes, installed utilities, developed infrastructure, and initiated economic development.<ref name=":0" />

==Cocopah Tribe of Arizona==
{{Further|Cocopah Indian Reservation}}
Cocopah peoples in the United States are enrolled in the '''Cocopah Tribe of Arizona'''. As of the 2000 United States Census, the Cocopah Tribe of Arizona numbered 891 people.<ref name="Census1"/> There is a [[Native American gaming|casino, speedway, resort, family entertainment center and bingo hall]] on the reservation as well as a Museum and Cultural Center.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Krol |first=Debra Utacia |date=February 27, 2024 |title=No small potatoes: Federal funding will help tribes expand electric service, irrigation |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2024/02/27/more-federal-money-for-water-power-coming-for-arizona-tribes/72700368007/ |access-date=2024-02-29 |work=The Arizona Republic |language=en-US}}</ref> Another Yuman group, the [[Quechan]], lives in the adjacent [[Fort Yuma Indian Reservation]]. On important occasions, Cocopah people wear their customary ribbon shirts and ribbon dresses.
<!-- Please do not uncomment until at least one entry has a Wikipedia article.
==Notable Cocopah people==
* Frank Tehanna, A Cocopah capitan who helped gain United States recognition and tribal lands for the Cocopah Indian Tribe near Somerton, Arizona in 1917.
* Bravie Soto, A US Army Sergeant who served with Recon Platoon, Echo, 2/39, 9 Infantry Division. He is often reported by family members and tribal historians to be the first Native American Casualty in the Vietnam War<ref>[http://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/48936/BRAVIE-SOTO "Bravie Soto"], ''Wall of Faces''.</ref>
-->

== Settlements ==
Cocopah people live in [[Mexicali Municipality]], [[Baja California (state)|Baja California]] (settlements of Campo Camerina (Colonia Terrenos Indios), Campo del Prado (Colonia el Mayor), Campo Flores, Campo Sonora (Colonia Terrenos Indios), Colonia la Puerta, Comunidad Indígena Cucapá el Mayor [Ejido el Mayor], Ejido Cucapá Mestizo, Ejido Doctor Alberto Mota (El Indiviso), Ejido Durango, Ejido México, Familia Regalado (Ejido Sonora 2 Campos Nuevos), La Casa de las Curvas (Colonia el Mayor), Mexicali, Sainz Domínguez (Colonia el Mayor), and San Felipe) and [[San Luis Río Colorado Municipality]], [[Sonora (state)|Sonora]] (settlements of Pozas de Arvizu (La Reserva), and San Luis Río Colorado), [[Mexico]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Catálogo de las Lenguas Indígenas Nacionales |url=https://www.inali.gob.mx/clin-inali/html/v_cucapa.html |access-date=2023-03-15 |website=Gobierno de México |language=es}}</ref> and in [[Somerton, Arizona|Somerton]], [[Arizona]] in the [[United States]].

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* Pritzker, Barry M. ''A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. {{ISBN|978-0-19-513877-1}}.

==Further reading==
* Gifford, E.W. (1933). ''The Cocopa.'' University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology, Vol 35:5, Pg 257–334.
*Kelly, William H. (1977). ''Cocopa Ethnography''. Anthropological papers of the University of Arizona (No. 29). Tucson: University of Arizona Press. {{ISBN|0-8165-0496-2}}.
{{Commons category|Cocopah}}

==External links==
*[http://www.cocopah.com/ Cocopah Indian Tribe], official website
*[https://nill.softlinkliberty.net:443/liberty/OpacLogin?mode=BASIC&openDetail=true&corporation=NARF&action=search&queryTerm=uuid%3D%2253d832770af1219601d7c480ae12f996%22&operator=OR&url=%2Fopac%2Fsearch.do Cocopah Constitution]

{{Indigenous People of AZ}}
{{Indigenous peoples of Mexico}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cocopah People}}
[[Category:Indigenous peoples of Aridoamerica]]
[[Category:Federally recognized tribes in the United States]]
[[Category:Native American tribes in Arizona]]
[[Category:Indigenous peoples in Mexico]]
[[Category:Colorado River tribes]]