Gila River Indian Community - Pima-Maricopa Irrigation Project
Long before the land that would become Arizona was colonized, there were a very diverse group of tribes that inhabited the Gila River and its neighboring valleys. Among these many tribes were the various peoples of the Hohokam, Akimel O’odham, Apache and Yuman tribes. People of the Hohokam tribe were quite peaceful, focusing their efforts on their sense of community and farming. Emulating the Hohokam’s serene nature, the Akimel O’odham tribe dwelled in small, but many, villages off the Gila River; they devoted much time to large scale irrigation projects. However, the Apache and the Yuman tribes were prone towards violence and war.
Much is owed to these Archaic peoples, mainly the Akimel O’odham (renamed the 'Pimas' by Spanish conquistadors). Though the Hohokam constructed nearly five-hundred miles of canals that were ten-feet deep and thirty-feet wide, the people of the Akimel O’odham seemed to have perfected the art of irrigation. Using only stone and wooden tools, these tribal people were able to construct an intricate canal system that diverted water from the Gila River into large canals; which had various head gates to further divert the water to their crops and farmland. Just as tribesmen of the Akimel O’odham were responsible for constructing the impressive canals, they were responsible for maintaining them as well. In order to get water from the Gila River safely to all the farmlands, responsibility was placed on each village to preserve their section of the large, interdependent irrigation system.
Irrigation continued and there came a time when the Yuman Pee Posh tribe, more commonly known as the Maricopa Indians, sought sanctuary among the Akimel O’odham tribe from other, more hostile Yuman tribes. The nonviolent Akimel O’odham welcomed the Pee Posh, allowing them to share their land. Though most of the Indian population has greatly diminished, ancestors of the Hohokam, Akimel O’odham and the Pee Posh still dwell on the land that belongs to their people.
Although the people of the land remain, the water does not. Due to vast migrations of people from the East coast to the West coast during the California Gold Rush, other towns/villages, dams, canals, irrigation systems etc. arose, depleting the indian farmlands of their water supply. Unfortunately this has been the case for the Indians of the Gila River for decades; though improvement was made during the 1930's when the U.S. government completed the Coolidge Dam, creating the San Carlos Reservoir which included a canal and pipe system to deliever some lakewater to the reservation. However, the Indian community has suffered greatly from their massive loss of water flow.
Today, the Indians of the Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) are in the planning stages of a massive irrigation project, which plans to bring water to 146,300 acres of land. The plan is to establish an irrigation system that will deliever water from District 1 (Blackwater area) to District 7 (Pee Posh "Pima" area). This monumental project will take many years to complete.
Engineering
Highlighted Projects
- GILA RIVER INDIAN COMMUNITY - TRIBAL PROJECTS
- GILA RIVER PUBLIC WORKS
Map of District
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Contacts:
George J. Cairo, P.E.
GEORGE CAIRO ENGINEERING, INC.
1630 South Stapley Drive
Stapley Center, Suite 117
Mesa, Arizona 85204
480.921.4080
480.921.4087 (Fax)
602.690.6661 (Cell)
gcairo@gcairoinc.com
Sofia Hernandez, Staff Engineer
GEORGE CAIRO ENGINEERING, INC.
1630 South Stapley Drive
Stapley Center, Suite 117
Mesa, Arizona 85204
480.921.4080
480.921.4087 (Fax)
shernandez@gcairoinc.com
Shane Lindstrom, Water Management Engineer
Gila River Indian Community
P.O. Box C
Sacaton, AZ 85247
520.562.6748
slindstr@gilariver.com
District Website
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