Colorado River Indian Tribes

Reservation

The Colorado River Indian Reservation is a Native American reservation in the southwest United States. Its territory is primarily in western La Paz County, Arizona, with smaller portions in southeastern San Bernardino, and northeastern Riverside counties, California. It has a total land area of 1,119.4445 km², most of it within Parker Valley. It borders the Palo Verde Valley in the southwest boundaries. Tribal headquarters are in Parker, Arizona. Tribal citizens mainly live in communities in and around Parker, the largest community, and Poston. The 2000 census reported a population of 9,201 persons residing on the reservation.

Government

The tribe and its reservation are governed by a democratically elected council of nine members and overseen by a tribal chairman, secretary, and treasurer. The council members elect the executive officers. The four tribes continue to maintain and observe their traditional ways, religions, and culturally unique identities.

The current administration is:

• Chairwoman: Amelia Flores
• Vice Chairman: Dwight Lomayesva
• Tribal Secretary: Josephine Tahbo
• Tribal Treasurer: Anisa Patch
• Council Member: William “Billy” Beeson
• Council Member: Thomas "Tommy" Drennan
• Council Member: Raeanne Patch
• Council Member: Tracey Quillen
• Council Member: Vanessa Welch

History

The reservation was established on March 3, 1865, for "Indians of said river and its tributaries." Initially, these were the Mohave and Chemehuevi, but Hopi and Navajo people were relocated to the reservation in 1945. John Scott designed the tribal seal in 1966, with four feathers to represent the four CRIT tribes (Colorado River Indian Tribes). Margie McCabe designed the tribal flag, which the tribe formally adopted in 1979.

Economic development

The economy for the tribe is based on light industry, government, recreation, and agricultural, specifically growing commodity crops of alfalfa, cotton, lettuce, and sorghum. The Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) has senior water rights to divert up to 719,248 acre feet of water from the Colorado River, which represents nearly one-third of the allocation for the state of Arizona.

The tribe operates BlueWater Resort and Casino, located about 2 miles from downtown Parker, as a tourist destination on the Colorado River.

The Colorado River Indian Tribe Museum and Gift Shop is in Parker, Arizona, and has displays of historical and contemporary artworks, especially ceramics, made by tribal citizens.

Communities

• Bluewater, Arizona
• Bluewater, California
• Parker, Arizona (seat of government)
• Poston, Arizona

Notable tribal citizens

• Jacoby Ellsbury (b. 1983), baseball center fielder with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees of Major League Baseball
• Veronica Murdock (born 1944), tribal vice chair and first woman president of the National Congress of American Indians

Notes

References

• Colorado River Reservation, Arizona/California United States Census Bureau

References

1. "About the Mohave, Chemehuevi, Hopi and Navajo Tribes".
2. "My Tribal Area".
3. "Colorado River Indian Tribes".
4. (1888). "Congressional Serial Set". U.S. Government Printing Office.
5. Fujita-Rony, Thomas Y.. "Poston (Colorado River)". Densho Encyclopedia.
6. (2003). "Confinement and Ethnicity: An Overview of World War II Japanese American Relocation Sites". University of Washington Press.
7. It opened in June 1999. The casino is {{convert. 30000. sqft and has more than 500 slot machines. The resort features a 200-room hotel, a {{convert. 10000. sqft [[Bingo (U.S.). bingo]] hall, an indoor water park, movie theater, video arcade, marina, and concert facilities.http://tribalgovernmentgaming.com/listing/bluewater-resort-casino {{Dead link. (February 2022)
8. "CRIT Museum & Gift Shop".