Yavapai-Apache Nation

Yavapai-Apache Nation Exodus Commemoration – A Day of Remembrance and Celebration

The Yavapai (Wipuhk’a’bah) and Apache (Dil’zhe’e) have lived in the Verde Valley and the surrounding country for centuries. The Dil’zhe’e lived mostly east of the Verde River, while Wipuhk’a’bah lived mostly west of the river.

Bands moved seasonally following the resources in a pattern that had been successful for centuries.

In 1863, gold was discovered on Lynx Creek in Prescott, right in the middle of the old Yavapai homelands. This discovery marked the beginning of the end for traditional Yavapai culture in the region. Within two years of the gold being discovered, Yavapai people were being hunted down like animals in their own country.

From 1863 through 1873 our ancestors were subjected to the constant and brutal wars of conquest conducted by the American government across the traditional Dil’zhee and Wipuhk’a’bah Homelands.

By 1871, the Federal Government believed they had central Arizona under control and by Executive Order, President Grant established a series of ‘military reserves’ across the Arizona Territory of all of the various tribal people who had ‘come in’ or surrendered. The Rio Verde reserve consisted of 900 square miles along the Verde River from Camp Verde to the old wagon crossing in Prescott to Santa Fe near Drake, Arizona.

During those first three winters on the reserves, 1871-1873, a lot of young and old people died due to bad water and unhealthy and inadequate rations. Holy men or spiritual leaders were taken out into the desert and shot, so they wouldn’t be able to pass on the old knowledge and songs.

On February 27, 1875, the United States Army, acting on an Executive Order from the President, transferred an estimated 1,500 Wipuhk’a’bah and Dil’zhee people from the Rio Verde Indian Reservation 180 miles away to the Indian Agency at San Carlos, Arizona.

The Wipukh’a’bah and Dil’zhee people were forced to march, under duress, through the winter flooded rivers, mountainous terrain, and harsh weather, under the direction of Indian Commissioner L.E. Dudley ad U.S. Army troops.

Rather than use the wagon roads that could be used to carry supplies and transport the sick and elderly, Dudley made the people, young and old, walk through the mountain passes and narrow canyon trails to get to San Carlos.

The arduous journey resulted in hundreds of lives lost, as the people were swept downriver or suffered illnesses.

The removal also resulted in the loss of several thousands of acres of treaty lands promised to the Wipuhk’a’bah and Dil’zhee by the United States government.

The new generation of Wipuhk’a’bah and Dil’zhee people was to be born into concentration camps. The people were forced into change; their traditional identities and old ways of life became dormant.

After 25 years of internment, approximately 200 Wipuhk’a’bah and Dil’zhee returned to the Verde Valley under the assumption that the land they had been promised remained theirs, only to discover that their land was taken over by Anglo settlers and that there was no longer a place reserved for the Wipuhk’a’bah and Dil’zhee within their original homelands.

Despite the many hostilities they faced, the Wipuhk’a’bah and Dil’zhee remained within their homelands until 1909, when a reservation was re-established. Although comprised of two distinct tribes, the Wipuhk’a’bah and Dil’zhee shared a common history and a common community which bound them together.

Under the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act, the group became a federally-recognized tribe. This set a formal elected government in motion to handle the affairs of the Yavapai-Apache people.

When the reservations were reestablished in the early 1900’s through 1930’s, those that were moved from place to place were able to settle. Through the tireless efforts of many, the Yavapai-Apache people finally had a home.

The Yavapai-Apache people voted in 1992, to revise their original Constitution, reflecting a new identity, the Yavapai-Apache Nation. This act reflected the merging of the two distinct tribes as one Nation.

With poverty rife within the Yavapai-Apache Nation, the Yavapai-Apache people opted to open a gaming facility in 1995. Cliff Castle Casino provided much needed revenue to the Yavapai-Apache Nation, allowing the tribal government to provide enhanced services to its members.

While partially funded by gaming revenue, the enhanced services are a result of forward thinking business acumen of former and current tribal administrations.

The Yavapai-Apache Nation consists of five separate parcels; Camp Verde, Middle Verde, Clarkdale, Tunlii, and Rimrock, encompassing approximately 1,821 acres and housing approximately 50% of the 2,300 enrolled members.

In addition to Cliff Castle Casino, the Yavapai-Apache Nation proudly owns and operates:Yavapai-Apache Sand & Rock, Distant Drums RV Park, Chevron Convenience Store, and the Yavapai-Apache Community Development Financial Institute.

The Yavapai-Apache Nation is one of the Verde Valley’s leading employers with approximately 600 employees.

On Saturday, February 25, 2012, the Yavapai-Apache Nation will commemorate the forced removal and successful return of the Yavapai and Apache people to the Verde Valley with a day of remembrance and celebration. The event is free of charge and open to the public.

Attendees should dress appropriately for the weather. Heating or shelter will not be provided. Attendees should bring lawn chairs or other seating accommodations to meet their needs.

Chairman Welcome

Welcome to the Yavapai-Apache Nation (‘Nation’) website. We invite you to utilize the website to learn more about who we are as a People.

In 1875, our ancestors were forcefully removed from our ancestral homelands in Central Arizona. Today, we continue to reclaim those lands and the culture that was taken from us during the removal.

With the opening of our gaming enterprise, Cliff Castle Casino Hotel in 1995, we have been able to improve the lives of our People and continue to expand our enterprise holdings, allowing the Nation to improve not only the lives of its People, but the lives of our friends and neighbors living in the surrounding communities.

We invite you to stop and visit us while visiting Arizona and as always welcome you to contact us at editor@yan-tribe.org for additional information or for questions you may have regarding the Nation.

Sincerely,

Chairman David Kwail

Nation Hosts Statewide Arizona American Indian Behavioral Health Forum

On February 15-16, the Nation hosted the second statewide American Indian Behavioral Health Forum at Cliff Castle Casino Hotel Conference Center. The theme of the forum was Policy & Service Delivery in a Changing Environment.

The forum was designed to provide an opportunity for Arizona Tribal representatives to dialogue and provide input to the leadership at the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) on a variety of behavioral health issues affecting tribes and ADHS.

Over 100 tribal clinical leaders from across Arizona attended the forum along with top officials from ADHS.

“Historically, tribes have not had access to behavioral health services through the State’s Medicaid system and were not at the table when planning was conducted,” says Alan Hicks, YAN Behavioral Health Clinician. “The state mandates how services will be operated and tribes are still being left out of the equation. The forum is an opportunity for tribes to have an input on how services will be conducted to best meet tribal behavioral health needs.

These services affect tribal youth who are placed outside the home and who currently are not receiving the services that are needed. This is a big concern to tribes across Arizona who are in need of these services.”

The two day event included general session speakers, panel presentations and breakout discussions that included a budget and economic overview by AHCCCS Director Tom Betlach.

Chairman David Kwail and Vice Chairman Robert Jackson, Sr. both attended the two day forum, expressing concern for the lack of behavioral health services throughout the state and specifically in tribal communities.

Dog at Large Conviction Declared a Petty Offense in Montijo vs. Yavapai-Apache Election Board Case

Yavapai-Apache Nation Chief Judge Joe Butner on February 9, declared in the Montijo vs. Yavapai-Apache Nation Election Board matter that Montijo’s December 12, 2006 conviction for Dog at Large was to be classified a petty offense.

The ruling contradicts the Election Board’s previous ruling that a Dog at Large conviction was a misdemeanor, effectively preventing Montijo from running for elected office during the January 7, Special Election.

Butner made his decision after finding that the penalties for offenses classified as petty offenses under the Nation’s Criminal Code are up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine, and were more punitive than those for Dog at Large, which is up to 5 days in jail and a $10 fine.

In her original filing, Montijo stated, “The Election Board has developed and displayed a pattern of inconsistencies and bias in the selection process of qualified tribal members to become seated in their own government, thus severely obstructing the eligible candidate pool, shaping the council prior to the election process which limits the selection and voting rights of the tribal members.”

Butner granted the Election Board’s request to have the remainder of Montijo’s Complaint Dismissed, including Montijo’s request to, “get satisfactory answers to the concerns of the inconsistencies displayed by the Election Board.”

Montijo did not challenge the January 7, Special Election results.

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