VIM. PIMAN INDIANS OF THE SONORAN DESERT
511
riverine systems of this region the most attractive of its areas insofar as
birds are concerned.
Not surprisingly, the riverine perimeters of Pimeria Alta were also the
home of several species of freshwater fishes. These included Colorado chub
(Gila robusta), Sonora chub (Gila ditaenia), Colorado squawfish (Ptychocheilus lucius), speckled dace (Rhinichthys osculus), longfin dace (Agosia
chrysogaster), loach minnow (Tiaroga cobitis), Mexican stoneroller
(Campostoma ornatum), spikedace (Meda fulgida), Sonora sucker (Catostomus insignis), Yaqui sucker (Catostomus bernardini), Gila sucker
(Pantosteus clarki), humpback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus), desert pupfish (Cyprinodon macularius) which is also found at Quitobaquito in
western Pimeria Alta, and the Gila topminnow (Poeciliopsis occidentalism,
The checklist of fishes is provided by Miller and Lowe (Lowe, 1964, pp.
133-151 ; see also Chapter VII of this volume).
Finally, a great many amphibians and reptiles are also common to these
riverine areas, as they are elsewhere in Pimeria Alta (see Lowe, 1964,
pp. 153-174; Mayhew, 1968, Chapter VI, Volume I of this treatise).
/. Summary. The most important environmental consideration to be
made concerning the riverine perimeter of Pimeria Alta is water itself. It is
the comparative permanence of flowing surface water and the greater precipitation in higher mountain slopes which contribute to the greater abundance of animal and plant life in this generally arid region, only a small
part of which is beyond the Sonoran Desert.
III. Piman Indians
The Piman Indians of northern Sonora and southern Arizona are today
divided into two groups: the Pima Indians, whose homes are on the Gila
River and Salt River reservations near Phoenix, Arizona; and the Papago
Indians, who live on the San Xavier, Gila Bend, Ak Chin, and Papago
reservations in southern Arizona, as well as in a few scattered settlements
in northern Sonora. This is to say nothing, of course, of the many Pimas
and Papagos who live off-reservation in non-Indian society, especially in
the metropolitan centers of Phoenix and Tucson.
When first seen by Europeans in the late 17th and early 18th centuries,
these Pimans, or groups of them, were variously referred to as Pimas,
Sobaipuris, Sobas, Papabotes, Papagos, or Gilenos, the last being a term
restricted to Piman Indians who lived in the Gila River Valley. None of
these terms were used by Pimans to refer to themselves or to one another.
Their universal appellation for themselves was, and is, o-otam, which
translated means something like, "we, the people."
511
riverine systems of this region the most attractive of its areas insofar as
birds are concerned.
Not surprisingly, the riverine perimeters of Pimeria Alta were also the
home of several species of freshwater fishes. These included Colorado chub
(Gila robusta), Sonora chub (Gila ditaenia), Colorado squawfish (Ptychocheilus lucius), speckled dace (Rhinichthys osculus), longfin dace (Agosia
chrysogaster), loach minnow (Tiaroga cobitis), Mexican stoneroller
(Campostoma ornatum), spikedace (Meda fulgida), Sonora sucker (Catostomus insignis), Yaqui sucker (Catostomus bernardini), Gila sucker
(Pantosteus clarki), humpback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus), desert pupfish (Cyprinodon macularius) which is also found at Quitobaquito in
western Pimeria Alta, and the Gila topminnow (Poeciliopsis occidentalism,
The checklist of fishes is provided by Miller and Lowe (Lowe, 1964, pp.
133-151 ; see also Chapter VII of this volume).
Finally, a great many amphibians and reptiles are also common to these
riverine areas, as they are elsewhere in Pimeria Alta (see Lowe, 1964,
pp. 153-174; Mayhew, 1968, Chapter VI, Volume I of this treatise).
/. Summary. The most important environmental consideration to be
made concerning the riverine perimeter of Pimeria Alta is water itself. It is
the comparative permanence of flowing surface water and the greater precipitation in higher mountain slopes which contribute to the greater abundance of animal and plant life in this generally arid region, only a small
part of which is beyond the Sonoran Desert.
III. Piman Indians
The Piman Indians of northern Sonora and southern Arizona are today
divided into two groups: the Pima Indians, whose homes are on the Gila
River and Salt River reservations near Phoenix, Arizona; and the Papago
Indians, who live on the San Xavier, Gila Bend, Ak Chin, and Papago
reservations in southern Arizona, as well as in a few scattered settlements
in northern Sonora. This is to say nothing, of course, of the many Pimas
and Papagos who live off-reservation in non-Indian society, especially in
the metropolitan centers of Phoenix and Tucson.
When first seen by Europeans in the late 17th and early 18th centuries,
these Pimans, or groups of them, were variously referred to as Pimas,
Sobaipuris, Sobas, Papabotes, Papagos, or Gilenos, the last being a term
restricted to Piman Indians who lived in the Gila River Valley. None of
these terms were used by Pimans to refer to themselves or to one another.
Their universal appellation for themselves was, and is, o-otam, which
translated means something like, "we, the people."