Havasupai

By JOHN BEIERLE

Coconino, Kanina, Kokonino, Nation of the Willows, Supai

The Havasupai are a Yuman speaking group of Native Americans, located in Cataract Canyon (Havasu Canyon) in northwest Arizona. They call themselves Havsuw ‘Baaja or “People of the blue-green water” because of their dependence on the Colorado River. They are closely related to their neighbors the Walapai and Yavapai.

Population figures for the Havasupai indicate a low of 177 in 1919 (following a measles epidemic) and 350 in 1964 (which apparently reflects the impact of modern medical procedures). In 1980 the Havasupai living on the reservation in Cataract Canyon numbered 267. In 2005 the total tribal enrollment was listed as 679 (U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 2005).

The language spoken by the Havasupai belongs to the Yuman family of languages, which is a derivative of the Hokan language group. The dialect differs only slightly from that spoken by the neighboring Hualapai tribe.

By the mid-twentieth century the process of acculturation had rapidly increased as many Havasupai came into individual contact with European-American employers in the course of wage employment, and as the federal government became more involved in tribal affairs (Schwartz 1983: 13).

In the mid-sixteenth century some of the early Spanish explorers in the region mention some of the wandering tribes in the region later occupied by Havasupai, and these may represent some of the very earliest Indian-European contacts in the area. It was not until 1665, however, that the name “Havasupai” was applied to this group of Native Americans. Sporadic contacts with European trappers and explorers began around 1776, but acculturation as the result of these contacts was minimal and occurred primarily in terms of items of material culture. In the late nineteenth century further contacts with European-Americans took place as cattle ranchers and mining prospectors encroached on Havasupai land. As a result of these inimical encounters, in 1880 a reservation was established for the Havasupai people in Cataract Canyon. The year 1895 brought about the establishment of a sub-agency and day school on the reservation by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In the 1940s the loss of territory and natural resources to European-Americans, led to the abandonment by the Havasupai of the annual migration to the plateau for hunting and gathering.

For a number of centuries the Havasupai have made their home in the Grand Canyon region of northwest Arizona. The main village of the modern Havasupai Reservation, Supai, is located 3,000 feet below the Coconino Plateau at the bottom of Havasu (Cataract) Canyon, and is accessible only by foot, horseback, or helicopter (Hillstrom 1998: 113).

The Havasupai economic system was based on a seasonal dichotomy in which the summer months were spent in farming in the canyon, and winter hunting-gathering on the plateau. By the mid-1800s European-American interests in the region pushed the tribe out of their traditional wintering grounds on the plateau, and they were restricted to a small reservation at the bottom of Havasu Canyon. After a long legal battle in 1975, some 188,077 acres of ancestral land were restored to the Havasupai. These lands were located along the south rim of Grand Canyon (Hillstrom 1998: 113).

Traditionally the Havasupai were agriculturalists, with the growing of maize, beans, squash, and melons in irrigated fields. This was supplemented by the gathering of fruits, berries and other wild foods by the women, and the hunting of rabbits, antelope, deer, and mountain sheep by men. Trade with neighboring tribes was also important to the economy.-

“The Havasupai in the 1960s possessed a cash economy based mainly on the tourist trade, welfare, and wage employment. About 1940, the cooperative Havasupai Development Enterprise was founded with aid of a federal grant, for the threefold purpose of developing a tourist industry on the reservation, establishing a grocery store, and improving farmlands and farming techniques” (Schwartz 1983: 21). Unfortunately by the 1960s this enterprise was bankrupt and inactive.

For many generations the Havasupai were successful farmers in their canyon summer home, growing several types of corn, as well as pumpkins, squash, melons, beans, and tobacco. Fruit trees, such as apples and peaches were also tended. Extra food was stored in stone granaries until it was needed or traded with neighboring tribes for various goods. The winter months on the plateau were spent in hunting deer, antelope, and rabbit, and in gathering pinon nuts, mescal, and other wild plant foods.

Subsistence in the modern era (twentieth and twenty-first centuries) has come mainly from government employment and tourism.

One of the most important craft among the Havasupai was basket weaving. Baskets were utilized in a number of ways among the Havasupai, as burden baskets, water bottles, parching trays, and stone-boiling containers. The manufacture of plain utilitarian pottery was also an important craft in the traditional culture but by 1900 had been completely replaced by metal containers.

As previously noted, trade formed an important economic activity among the Havasupai. Trading expeditions not only provided opportunities for the exchange of goods, but also for visiting and diversion. The Havasupai were involved in a trade network extending from the Hopi in the east, through the Navajo and Walapai, to the Mohave in the west. The main items of commerce for the Havasupai were buckskin, foodstuffs, and basketry in exchange for cotton goods, horses, pottery, jewelry, and buffalo hides.

Strict division of labor by sex was not observed, with the exception of certain handicrafts. House-building, agricultural tasks, and the tanning of hides, were undertaken by all members of the family, but the manufacturing of clothing was strictly a male occupation. Women made sleeping mats, cradleboards, baskets, pottery, and were responsible for such duties as food preparation, and child care. Women also gathered wild plants growing near their camps, but large-scale gathering expeditions involved the entire family.

Land used for agriculture was considered private property, as long as it was in use. “Failure to cultivate a plot for a few years resulted in the property rights reverting to the community, and another household could then lay claim to the land. Title usually belonged to men, and all sons shared in the inheritance” (Schultz 1983: 17).

The Havasupai nuclear or extended family is the primary social unit in the society and functioned as both an independent unit as well as a local residential group. No other social divisions such as clans, moieties or ceremonial sodalities were acknowledged nor do the Havasupai even recognize lineages based on relationships beyond the grandparental generation. In addition, any system of social classes or body of raked individuals was absent in the society. Prestige was achieved only through merit based on a person’s skill, industriousness, or other admired characteristics. Individuals recognize their affiliations with their immediate relatives only. Within a kin or family group collateral lines are merged with the direct lines of descent, being equated in the parent’s generation. There is little recognition of relatives by marriage.

Although kinship was traced bilaterally, specific kin terms were rarely used for related individuals either in reference or in address. Schultz notes that genealogical knowledge does not seem to have been of very great interest or importance to the Havasupai (Schultz, 1983, p. 6).

Marriage with any blood relative was at least theoretically forbidden, however since kinship ties were usually forgotten after several generations, third and fourth cousins often felt free to marry one another.

Traditionally Havasupai customs did not include a formal marriage ceremony.”Instead when a couple wished to establish a marriage relationship the man simply moved in with the woman’s family. They lived with these relatives until they had children of their own, at which time they moved back to the man’s family home. Eventually the couple and their children would establish a home of their own (Hillstrom, 1998, p. 116).” In the twentieth century marriage customs have changed. Marriages have”become a gradual developmental process unmarked by ritual at any stage. New opportunities for economic independence made parental approval of marriage no longer crucial. In addition, young people now have greater freedom to develop close personal relationships while attending government boarding schools and accordingly took the initiative in arranging their own marriage. Temporary matrilocal residence after marriage ceased to be the statistical norm, residence is determined by pragmatic interests (Schwartz, 1983, p. 12).”

Although polygyny was not forbidden in Havasupai society, there were very few men who had more than one wife. Divorce was relatively rare but could take place at the wishes of either party.

The major social unit in Havasupai society was the nuclear or extended family, which functioned as both an independent economic unit as well as a local residential group. Most common was the patrilocal extended family, composed of a man, his wife, their unmarried children, and their married sons and families. It should be noted, however, that patrilocal residence was normally preceded by a period of temporary matrilocality immediately after marriage.

The title to land usually belonged to men, and all sons or grandsons shared in the inheritance. In recent years (twentieth century) a small percentage of inheritors have been women. Although widows and unmarried daughters share in the use of land they cannot be said to have title to it. At a man’s death other forms of personal property that he owned, such as clothing, weapons, horses, etc., are burned or buried with him. Those articles which are permitted to remain are inherited by his children or by members of the family. A woman’s possessions go to her children or to her own family. The title of “chief” is also inherited in the male line, providing that that individual is worthy of the honor.

Infants and children received a great deal of affection and attention by members of the household but were never made to feel that they occupied any special position in the society. Young children were allowed to play freely, but as they grew older they were expected to assist more and more with the daily household chores. Through oral instructions and by example children were taught to perform the tasks that would be expected of them as adults. Discipline was mild and punishment infrequent and generally administered verbally, although in the traditional society of the past it was said to be much more severe. Grandparents played an important role in child rearing, and often developed close and affectionate ties with their grandchildren (Schwartz 1983: 18).

As previously noted in this article the primary component group in Havasupai society was the nuclear and/or extended family. Clans, moieties or ceremonial sodalities have not been noted for the Havasupai, nor were social classes or systems or rankings. Societal prestige in the society was achieved by the individual through his own merit, such as personal skills, industriousness, etc.

Traditionally the Havasupai were divided into two local groups, one occupying the western section of the plateau, (now known as the Hualapai) , and the other, the eastern portion (or Havasupai). Each of the two groups was composed of nuclear and extended families loosely associated in semi-nomadic conformity to their environment. Both divisions were further subdivided into half a dozen or more small bands each under the leadership of a chief with limited authority. Based on outstanding qualities of personal leadership, a head-chief was chosen by the chiefs to oversee their activities and to provide advice as needed. The head-chief also appointed a number of sub-chiefs (war chief, etc.). In 1939 the Havasupai adopted a tribal constitution which provided for a tribal council composed of a chairman, sub-chairman, four elected councilmen and three hereditary chiefs. In the traditional society actual council meetings were seldom held because most issues, affecting the tribe were dealt with informally by the men as they relaxed around the sweatlodge. In 1946 the Havasupai incorporated under the provisions of a corporate charter. “The council is assisted by a general manager, tourist enterprise manager, trading company manager, and stock-tender manager”(The Confederation of American Indians, 1986, p. 16).

Public censure is an important means of social control among the Havasupai, especially when made by a chief, and the council, when influenced by strong public feelings. Public censure is often the force which brings a family squabble to a decision compatible with the tribal interest.

Since historic times the Havasupai have maintained consistently friendly relations with the Walapai with whom they have joined in offense action against a common enemy, such as the Yavapai, who carried out raids against both groups during the harvest season. Western Apache groups also joined in some of these raids. Because of their small population size, the Havasupai response to these raids was primarily defensive, but occasionally resulted in brief retaliatory attacks. Offensive actions by the Havasupai were seldom if ever undertaken. In 1865 a general peace agreement took place between the Havasupai and Yavapai ending all hostile actions and promoting peaceful trade relations. In a similar manner peace and trade relations were established between the Havasupai and the Navajo and Paiute (mid-nineteenth century).

According to the Havasupai belief system each person was believed to have a soul which during dreams and at death left the body and journeyed to the land of the dead in the sky which was conceived of as a huge dome that came down to meet the earth at its edges. After death the person’s soul became a ghost which if seen by mortal beings could cause disease or even death. For this reason the Havasupai feared going out at night lest they encounter such an apparition.

The Havasupai had few major deities. One of these was Pakiyóka (he who draws people after, or he who draws souls into the sky), and Pakiyóva (he who makes people live again). Pakiyóva is possibly a version of the Christian god who makes people live again after death. Two other characters playing important roles in Havasupai mythology are a boy and his grandmother. The boy lived in the east and every year he would travel west to visit his grandmother bringing with him rain, wind, and seeds to plant.

Religion and ceremonialism were not highly developed among the Havasupai and formed only a minor part in tribal life. As with other Yuman tribes religious beliefs centered around shamanism and magical curing through the use of spirits and dreams. In general the Havasupai believed strongly in the afterlife and ghosts, and dreams to them were a way of making contact with supernatural forces.

Religious leadership was provided by four types of shamans who were believed to have obtained their special powers through dreams. Of these the most important was the curing shaman. Others were the weather and hunt shamans, and those specialized in treating wounds, fractures, or snake bites. Each curing shaman possessed a spirit that had come to him in a dream, who the shaman would send out to discover information about the patient which the shaman could use in his diagnosis. These spirits could be inherited from a former shaman, but in most cases dreaming was essential to the process of becoming a practitioner. During the dream shamans learned the songs that he would need for the curing ceremony.

The primary ceremony of the Havasupai was the round dance held annually at harvest time. Originally this dance was supposed to bring rain and prosperity to the people, but it also functioned equally well for social and religious purposes. This dance festival lasted two or three days in extent, and included much visiting, feasting and bartering. At intervals in the dancing, chiefs would take the opportunity to harangue the crowd on proper behavior or other matters considered important. Prior to 1900, masked dances borrowed from the Hopi, were held in order to bring rain but ceased shortly thereafter probably as the result of the confinement of the Havasupai in Cataract Canyon where water was abundant.

Puberty ceremonies for girls were observed at the onset of their first menses and marked a change of status from child to near adult. Ceremonies involved the wearing of special garments, isolation, the observance of taboos (mostly in regard to foods), and the display of certain athletic prowess (running).

Dancing was an integral part of Havasupai life. The basic dance formations were the round dance (more social than religious), masked dances (probably an imitation of Hopi kachina impersonations), and the Mohave version of the bear dance. Songs were sung for pleasure, to accompany the dancing, and in curing ceremonies by the shaman. Several types of basketry were made using both twining and coiling methods. These baskets were decorated with simple geometrical designs, animal figures, or banding. Pottery consisted of small, unslipped, coarse, and undecorated globular pots, common to all the nomadic tribes of the Southwest.

The Havasupai firmly believed that illness to have supernatural causes such as sorcery, ghosts, spirits, and harmful dreams. Healing then was primarily the domain of shamans who used their magical powers and contacts with the spirit world to bring about a cure of the disease or mend physical injuries. In the curing process the shaman would sing over the patient in an all night session, sending his spirit helper into the patient to seek out the cause of illness. Once the diagnosis had been determined the shaman would suck out any harmful objects that had been sent into the patient’s body (by sorcery), or exhorted the malevolent spirit to leave the patient alone. An important part of the healing process was to sever ties with the ghosts of departed relatives who were believed to make living persons ill in order to gain companions in death.

Prior to the late nineteenth century, Havasupai mortuary customs were simple. Because of the fear of ghosts, they cremated the dead and destroyed most of the individual’s personal property including his house, horses, and all or part of the deceased’s crops. Mourning was brief, and there was no formal funeral ceremony.

The Confederation of American Indians. 1986. Havasupai Reservation. In Indian Reservations: A State and Federal Handbook. Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 16.

Hillstrom, Laurie Collier. 1998. Havasupai. In The Gale Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. Vol. II. Great Basin, Southwest, Middle America. Sharon Malinowski and Anna Sheets, eds. Detroit: Gale Research, Inc. pp. 113-116.

Schwartz, Douglas W. Havasupai. 1983. In Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 10, Southwest. Alfonso Ortiz, ed. Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution.

U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs. 2005. American Indian Population and Labor Force Report. http://www.bia.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/text/idc-001719.pdf. Accessed August 24, 2011.