History
The Cocopah tribe, otherwise known as Kwapa meaning ‘river people’ is a group of people living along the river Colorado in Arizona. These people are collectively described as generous with no materialistic characteristics. The Cocopah tribes have tried to maintain their cultural and religious beliefs despite the changing times. They have been able to withstand political waves to remain united with their common belief and culture. The Indian tribe is a sub-tribe of the Yunan language speakers who lived and occupied the areas bordering Colorado River. The ancestors of this tribe also resided along Colorado River near the Gulf of California. Hernando de Alarcon undertook a mission to find out the practice of this tribe. In his diaries, he describes the Cocopah people as hospital. He cites an incident des where they were offered sea shells, food and leather. The Cocopah people are mainly farmers and hunters from the ancient times.
Records dating back to 15th century show that the Cocopah people who lived on Colorado River were estimated to be about 7000. The records were documented by father Escobar when voyaging on river Colorado. Following the discovery of gold in California in the 1849 led to upsurge of immigrants who came to work in the mines. However, the Cocopah people decided to remain conservative to their beliefs and hence they were not assimilated by other tribes. People who lived near the port and the army camp were pushed to reservations so that the government could control traffic in the port and the gold mines. Despite mixing with other people, the Cocopah people did not get assimilated but continued with their cultural beliefs.
The Cocopah people proved to be talented navigators of the river. This prompted President Wilson to sign an order to establish a reservation for the Cocopah people to freely navigate the river Colorado. This gave the tribe an additional 4200 acres of land in a bill signed by Reagan. Today, there are three pieces of land to the tune of 6500 acres. The lands include the East, north and western reservations. Most of this land is divided to farmers who are non Indians for a fee. The main Cocopah reservation is at Yuma along river Colorado. Records show that the tribe has once occupied southern California and some parts of northern Mexico. The Cocopah lands were divided when the Guadalupe treaty divided the boarder in 1848. The Cocopah tribe was forced to abandon their colleagues who were in Mexico side. This made them to break ties. In 1964, the tribe formulated a constitution and elected a five member council that would oversee the welfare of members and ensure their interests were forwarded to the federal and state government.
Contemporary issues
The tribe has advanced to construct high quality housing after buying more land to accommodate their members. They also mobilized resources for development. They mobilized funds to construct the Octagonal Tribal Administration Building. The membership status as at 2012 stood at 1000 persons in the reservations. Cocopah tribe owns several reservations which are used to offer homes to members and leasing to other citizens. The tribe owns three reservations along the river Colorado which were acquired in the early 20th century. In addition, the tribe has engaged in developments where they buy property like land for development. Houses are constructed on these reservations to settle their members and earn fees from leasing. The tribe also conducts renovation activities in the reservations. Their work is highly recognized by the authorities since it comprises welfare improvement of the people. Cocopah has been renovating its reservations for 10 year now. This has prompted the central government to recognize the efforts employed by the tribe. In this regard, the government has offered a total of $632000 in form of grants as a boost to the tribe activities.
The Cocopah tribe assists the government in offering a greener environment. This is because the tribe is renovating old house to install energy efficient applications, glass windows to allow natural light inside to conserve power. In addition, all this work is done by the members of the tribe. The tribe uses such incentive to attract members who have detached themselves from the tribe while at the same trying to keep the existing members. Golf game has been established in Yuma courtesy of the tribe. Games are ideal in defining the entertainment aspect of the county. The game attracts many players and observers who bring business to the county. This is a clear attraction to investors who like gaming or sponsoring teams. The tribe has aided in urban development. This is because the tribe has invested heavily in Yuma. In fact, the town is characterized by Cocopah development projects. The Cocopah administration house is a landmark in Yuma. The building consists of offices that deal with the welfare of the members as well as offices for use by the general public. The tribe has developed a museum to preserve its history. This is instrumental in development of Yuma sine visitors pay some dues which remain in the county. This is a major booster for the local government that derives taxes from the attendance of the museum.
Development of infrastructure is a major activity undertaken by Cocopah in their reservations. A good example is the expansion of the Cottonwood drive through an elaborate plan to make the road a two lane driveway. Good transport is essential for development of an urban area. As such, it acts as an incentive to attract investors. The tribe also engages in many projects in their reservations like widening of roads, sanitation and clean energy the estates. Lighting is important in a urban setting. The Cocopah tribe has invested in lightning of its reservations. To effect this, there has been installation of luminaries along the main streets of the estates. This is a huge project since luminaries cost more than $60000. The projects suggest that 15 flood lights will be installed.
The estates have efficient bus services to offer cheap transport facilities. The management has increased the buses and their frequencies in the estates. Transport is necessary for an ideal urban system. This is because it saves the residents on the cost of transport costs and reduces congestion. This is because the bus charges are lees and therefore attract people. This is yet another way of reducing pollution in the reservations since exhaust gases are main polluters of the air.
Efforts by the Indian tribe have earned recognition by the government through the department of housing and urban development. This is because the houses and infrastructure offered by the Indian TRIBE ARE at par with the government plans. In fact, the government has decided to motivate The Tribe through grants so that it can act as example to other developers. CIHAD believes that by investing on low cost housing that has clean energy can go a long way in assisting the members in saving the high bills from the power distributors. Efficient housing that can use natural light during the day is something that is treasured by the tribe. The greatest project in energy efficient houses is the proposal to rehabilitate houses that are ll electric to generate the power they consume from the sun. This means that there are no power bills in the part of the members or tenants.
Conclusion and recommendation
In a way of conclusion, it is important to admit the importance of tribal nation building it Arizona. The example discussed shows how a tribal nation can affect development of a place. This is because the citizens are the direct bearers of burdens caused by poor living conditions. As a result, the citizens can be a in a better position to influence their lives positively by investing in what they think is causing the problem. However, this cannot be done without the will power and government support. Tribal nations should ensure that all projects are at par with the laws to enhance the chances of licensing and receipt of donations.
Tribal nations are essential in nation building since they can mobilize funds from the members and other well wishers to improve on services and products that are essential to the general public. Roads, power and security services are supposed to be provided by the government but it may be unable to cover all parts thus some assisting hand can go a long way in developing the nation. Nevertheless, tribes who prove to be loyal to the development agenda of the government are prone to receive grants and other forms of support from the national government just like the case of Cocopah tribe.
Works Cited
"Cocopah Indian Tribe of Arizona History." Cocopah Indian Tribe. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2013.
Calloway, D. H., and J. C. Gibbs. "Food patterns and food assistance programs in the Cocopah Indian Community." Ecology of Food and Nutrition (1976): n. pag. Print.
Cocopah Indian Tribe and State of Arizona Gaming Compact, 2002. Phoenix, Ariz: Arizona Dept. of Gaming, 2002. Print.
Cocopah Tribe Comprehensive Plan. Phoenix, Ariz.: Arizona Office of Economic Planning and Development, 1976. Print.
