Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation

The Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation is governed by a democratically elected tribal council, headquartered in Fountain Hills, Arizona. Their administration in 2025 is: • President: Sandra Pattea • Vice president: Paul J. Russell • Tribal treasurer: Ernestine Kill • Tribal secretary: Verlene Baptisto • Council member: Albert Nelson • Council member: Gerald Doka. == Reservation ==

The reservation was officially created on September 15, 1903, by executive order, on a small parcel carved from the ancestral lands of the Yavapai people, encompassing . The acreage had been part of the Fort McDowell Military Reserve, which had been an important outpost during the Apache Wars. == History ==

in the style of historical Yavapai shelters The original residents of the Fort McDowell Reservation were the nomadic kwevikopaya, or Southeastern Yavapai people, who had lived in the nearby Mazatzal-Four Peak and Superstition Mountains area. The outside communities of Fountain Hills and Rio Verde lie adjacent to the reservation. In addition to Rio Verde and Fountain Hills, the reservation's economy is also closely tied to the nearby cities of Mesa, Scottsdale, and Phoenix. Also in the area is the Salt River Indian Reservation of the Akimel O'odham and Maricopa peoples. == Economic development ==

In 1983, the tribe opened the state's first bingo hall. In 2018, the Tribe began construction on the new 166,341-square-foot casino which opened in 2020. The tribe operates its own gas station, a large sand and gravel operation, a farm, and the Fort McDowell Casino. ==Ba Dah Mod Jo Cemetery==

The Ba Dah Mod Jo Cemetery is also referred to as the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation Tribal Cemetery. It was where the soldiers who were stationed in Fort McDowell and who perished were buried. The remains of the "Anglos" who were buried there were later transferred to El Presidio Cemetery in San Francisco after the land was ceded to the Yavapai Nation. == Notable Fort McDowell Yavapai ==

• Carlos Montezuma, Native rights activist and doctor who founded the Society of American Indians. ==References==