The Hia C-eḍ O'odham ("Sand Dune People"), also known as Areneños, Sand Papagos, or Sand Pimas are a Native American peoples whose traditional homeland lies between the Ajo Range, the Gila River, the Colorado River, and the Gulf of California.[1] They are currently unrecognized at both the state and federal level in the United States and Mexico, although the Tohono O'odham Nation has a committee for issues related to them and has land held in trust for them. They are represented by a community organization known as the Hia-Ced O'odham Alliance. The Hia C-eḍ O'odham are no longer nomadic, and the majority today live in or near Ajo, Arizona, or the small settlements of Blaisdell and Dome near Yuma.
They have often been considered a "Papago subtribe" by anthropologists, along with the Tohono O'odham and several vanished groups. The Tohono O'odham Nation has used this to their advantage in order to make various claims to aboriginal title to the traditional land of the Hia C-eḍ O'odham. The stated intentions of the Nation are benevolent, to re-enfranchise their Hia C-eḍ cousins and restore their traditional homeland. Anybody who can prove a certain percentage of Hia C-eḍ O'odham ancestry can apply for membership in the Tohono O'odham Nation.
| Hia C-eḍ O'odham | Tohono O'odham | Akimel O'odham | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional homeland | Between the Ajo Range, the Gila River, the Colorado River and the Gulf of California | Desert south of the Gila River | Land around the Gila and Salt Rivers |
| Meaning of endonym | Sand Dune People | Desert People | River People |
| Habitation patterns | Nomadic ("no-villagers") | Separate winter and summer residences ("two-villagers") | Perennial habitation on rancherías ("one-villagers") |
| Prevalence of agriculture [2] | Nearly 100% hunting and gathering | 75% hunting and gathering, 25% agricultural | 40% hunting and gathering, 60% agricultural |
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Due to geographical proximity, certain cultural traits were borrowed from the Yuman peoples, with some sources implying that their culture was more Yuman than it was Piman, with the exception of their language. According to historical sources, the Hia C-eḍ O'odham were friendly with the Cocopah, the Quechan, and the Halchidhoma.[3]
The Hia C-eḍ O'odham were traditionally hunters and gatherers. They caught jackrabbits by chasing them down in the sand. They hunted mountain sheep, mule deer, and pronghorn antelope with bows and arrows. They caught muskrats and lizards as well. During certain seasons, they went to the gulf to fish and obtain salt.
They also ate camote, an edible flower stalk found in the sand dunes, mesquite beans, saguaro fruit, and pitahaya fruit, which they gathered near Quitobaquito and the Lower Sonoita River.[4]
Griffin-Pierce, Trudy. 2000. Native Peoples of the Southwest. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.