The Mojave Tribe, located in the Mohave Valley, hunted, farmed, and fought with neighboring tribes. Today, they live on a reservation and have a rich culture revolving around the Colorado River. The arrival of “mountain men” in the late 1820s led to violence and the establishment of Fort Mojave. The US government established a reservation in 1865, and the Mojave were treated harshly, with children forced to attend a boarding school. In 1911, the government granted the Fort Mojave Indians their own reservation. Today, approximately 1,200 members of the Mojave Tribe live on the reservation and operate various attractions.
The Mojave Tribe is made up of American Indians who live in the Mohave Valley, an area where southeastern California, southern Nevada, and western Arizona meet. The tribe hunted, farmed and fought with neighboring tribes. Today the Mojave live on a reservation in the area.
The Mojave Tribe has a rich culture that revolves around the Colorado River. In times of peace, the Mojave grew corn, squash, squash, beans, and cantaloupe along the river banks. They fished and caught the animals that came to the river to drink. Mojave men went naked; warriors scouted the area for hundreds of miles, sometimes taking slaves. Women wore beaver skins and practiced the arts of tattooing and face painting.
In 1602, the first Spanish explorers encountered the Mojave tribe. Sustained contact with the whites did not occur until the arrival of the “mountain men” in the late 1820s. The men came to trap beavers for their pelts, and the Mojave initially welcomed them. The Mojave did not understand hunters’ practices, however, including how animal carcasses were disposed of after skinning, and violence erupted. To protect American interests, the US government established a fort nearby called Fort Mojave.
Public opinion was strongly against the Indians. In 1865, the US government established a reservation in the southern portion of the Mojave Territory. Fearing the power of the United States, the Mojave chieftain drove his people into the poorer farmlands of the Colorado Indian Reservation.
Some Mojaves remained on their ancestral lands, but were treated harshly. The government converted Fort Mojave into a boarding school and forced all children to attend. The school attempted to wear down traditional culture by forcing the Mojave to take Anglo names. Disobedient children were locked up, whipped, or starved to death. Having no land to farm, their parents sought work in the cities, on the railways and in the mines.
In 1911, the government granted the Fort Mojave Indians their own reservation. This land spanned the western side of the Colorado River and parts of Arizona, totaling 31,300 acres (13,395 ha). The boarding school closed in the 1930s and the children attended school in nearby Needles, California.
According to the 2000 United States Census, approximately 1,200 members of the Mojave Tribe live on the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation. The Mojave Tribe operates a casino, golf course, RV parks, and other attractions. They also lease their land to industrial farmers who grow corn, cotton and soybeans where the Mojave used to farm.
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