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 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
hunting and gathering.
Post-contact The first significant contact of the Cocopah with
Europeans and Africans probably occurred in 1540, when the
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, 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. 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 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, 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). On January 29, the Magonistas and the Cocopah
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 to
Ensenada, raiding small towns and looting
Chinese-Mexican businesses. 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.
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. ==Cocopah Tribe of Arizona==