The Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, is located on land that has been inhabited by Indigenous peoples for 13,000 years. Today, the Tucson area is home to the Tohono O’odham and the Pascua Yaqui. Currently there are 22 federally recognized tribes with reservation lands in the state of Arizona. Committed to diversity and inclusion, the University and Arizona State Museum strive to build sustainable relationships with sovereign Native Nations and Indigenous communities. 

The Ak-Chin Indian Community is composed mainly of Akimel O’odham and Tohono O’odham, as well as some Hia-Ced O’odham, members. Ak-Chin is O’odham for “mouth of the wash”—the place where it recedes into the ground. Ak-Chin refers to a type of farming that relies on washes created by winter snows and summer rains. 

The Ak-Chin Indian Community is a federally recognized tribe and a sovereign nation. 

Information from the Ak-Chin Indian Community website.

The Akimel O’odham (AH kee mel AH ah tahm) or “river people” (formerly known as Pima) live along the Salt and Gila Rivers.

The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (SRPMIC) is located in the metropolitan Phoenix area, in Maricopa County. It is bounded by the cities of Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, and Fountain Hills. SRPMIC encompasses 52,600 acres, with 19,000 held as a natural preserve.

The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community is a federally-recognized tribe and sovereign nation.

This information is drawn from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community's website and the ASM 

The Hopi (HOE pee) Tribe is a sovereign nation located in northeastern Arizona. Made up of 12 villages on three mesas (flat hills), the reservation occupies part of Coconino and Navajo counties, encompassing more than 1.5 million acres.

Since time immemorial the Hopi people have lived in Hopitutskwa and have maintained their sacred covenant with Maasaw, the ancient caretaker of the earth, to live as peaceful and humble farmers respectful of the  land and its resources. Over the centuries they have survived as a tribe, and to this day have managed to retain their culture, language, and religion despite influences from the outside world. 

The Hopi tribe is federally recognized and a sovereign nation.

Information from the Hopi Tribe's website.

Yaquis (YAH kee) are a Uto-Aztecan speaking people whose homeland is the Yaqui River valley of Southern Sonora. They call themselves Yoemem (yo EM mem), or “People”. Their nearest neighbors in Sonora are the Mayos, with whom they share many customs and beliefs. 

Culture is an important element with all Yaqui communities. It is bonded together with Christianity and Yaqui spirituality, in the hope for a better view of the world and morality. An example of Yaqui spirituality is the iconic symbol of the deer and the deer dancer, who mimics the connection the Yaqui people have to nature. Yaqui spiritual values are based in the merging of the two faiths, as well as the traditional ceremonial practices, along with adaptations to modern ways. This combination preserves what make a Yaqui, Hiaki (Yaqui).

The Pascua Yaqui Tribe is a federally recognized tribe and sovereign nation. 

This information is drawn from the Pascua Yaqui Tribe's website and the ASM 

The Tohono O’odham (toh HOH noh AH ah tahm) or the “desert people” (formerly known as Papago). Historically, the O’odham inhabited an enormous area of land in the southwest, extending South to Sonora, Mexico, north to Central Arizona  (just north of Phoenix, Arizona), west to the Gulf of California, and east to the San Pedro River. This land base was known as the Papagueria and it had been home to the O’odham for thousands of years.

In recent years, the U.S.-Mexico border has affected the O’odham in many ways, because immigration laws prevent the O’odham from crossing it freely. The artificial barrier prevents the O'odham from traversing their lands, collecting foods and materials needed to sustain their culture, visiting family, and traditional sacred rites. The U.S. Border Patrol has detained and deported members of the Tohono O’odham Nation who were simply traveling through their own traditional lands, practicing migratory traditions essential to their religion, economy and culture. Customs agents have confiscated items from them of cultural and religious importance.

The division of O’odham lands has resulted in an artificial division of O’odham society. O’odham bands are now broken up into 4 federally recognized tribes: the Tohono O’odham Nation, the Gila River Indian Community, the Ak-Chin Indian Community and the Salt River (Pima Maricopa) Indian community. Each band is now politically and  geographically distinct and separate. The remaining band, the Hia-C’ed  O’odham, are not federally recognized, but reside throughout southwestern Arizona. All of the groups still speak the O’odham language, which derives from the Uto-Aztecan language group, although each group has varying dialects. 

The Tohono O'odham are a federally recognized tribe and sovereign nation.

This information is drawn from the Tohono O'odham Nation's website and the ASM 

The Akimel O’otham (AH kee mel AH ah tahm) or “river people” (formerly known as Pima) live along the Salt and Gila Rivers. (O'otham is a spelling variation of O'odham)

In the 1840s, the Akimel O’otham offered refuge to the Maricopa tribe, a Yuman tribal  people who had been driven eastward from the lower Colorado River area by other Yuman tribes. The Maricopa, who called themselves the “Pee  Posh,” settled with the Akimel O’otham, and to this day they share the space and resources of the Gila River lands. Their villages dotted the entire Gila River Valley, to the East as far as Florence, to the West near the base of the Estrellas (or Komatke as they are called by the O’otham). Today members of the Gila River Indian Community are in the planning stages of an irrigation project of monumental proportions. 

The Gila River Indian Community is a federally recognized tribe and sovereign nation.

Information from the Gila River Indian Community's website and the ASM 

The Navajo Nation extends into the states of Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico, covering over 27,000 square miles of unparalleled beauty. 

, or Navajoland, is larger than 10 of the 50 states in America. Today, the Navajo Nation is striving to sustain a viable economy for an ever increasing population that now surpasses 250,000.

For more than three centuries, Navajos (NAH vuh hoh) or “Diné” (dih NAY) of northeastern Arizona were primarily a pastoral people who relied on their herds of sheep, cattle, and horses for their subsistence. The history of their pastoral life revolves around three central concepts: their animals, their close relationship with the land, and their seasonal journeys that followed the movement of their herds. Adaptation to change is a hallmark of all Navajos. 

The Navajo are a federally recognized tribe and sovereign Nation.  

Information from the Navajo Nation's website and ASM's 

Western Apaches, who call themselves Indé (IN day) include the San Carlos (san KAR los), Tonto (TAHN toh), and White Mountain Apache Tribes. 

The White Mountain Apache Tribe has lived in the White Mountains since time immemorial. Today the Tribe consists of approximately 16,000 members. Their reservation consists of 1.67 million acres in east-central Arizona. 

The San Carlos Apache tribe spans Gila, Graham, and Pinal counties in southeastern Arizona. The San Carlos Apache Reservation is home to over 15,000 members of various bands of Apache. 

The Tonto Apache Tribe is located adjacent to the town of Payson. The Tonto Apache are the direct descendants of the Tontos who lived in the Payson vicinity long before the arrival of European settlers. 

The Tonto, San Carlos, and White Mountain Apache tribes are all federally recognized and sovereign nations.

Information drawn from the Intertribal Council of Arizona, the San Carlos Apache Chamber of Commerce, White Mountain Apache's website, and ASM's 

Standards for Explore Federally Recognized Tribes of Arizona

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework