Native
American Influence
for thousands of years, Indians were the exclusive inhabitants of
Arizona. Archaeological evidence points to the prehistoric existence of
three major tribal groups - the Anasazai of the northern plateau
highlands, the Mogollon people of the northeastern and eastern mountain
belt, and the Hohokam of the southern desert. The earliest inhabitants
of Southern Arizona were the Hohokam Indians, who irrigated and farmed
the area for more than 700 years, until about AD 1400. There is no
record of the Hohokam after that time, although it is believed they may
have been the ancestors of the Pima Indians. The name Hohokam in the
Pima Indian language means "those who have vanished." The Pima
and Sobaipuri Indians witnessed Spanish Jesuit missionary Father Eusebio
Francisco Kino's visit to the Tucson area in 1687. In 1700, Father Kino
established the San Xavier Mission at the nearby village of Bac. He
founded approximately 24 missions in the region and introduced
Christianity and the Spanish culture to the Indians.
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The Beginnings of a City
Spain was the first country to fly its flag over historic Tucson. The
Indian name for the settlement here was Stjukshon, pronounced like
Tucson, which roughly translates as "spring at the foot of the
black hill." Spanish settlers built the walled San Augustin del
Tucson presidio in 1776 to protect themselves from marauding Apaches.
The walls of the presidio gave Tucson its nickname "Old
Pueblo." The Spanish introduced cattle and horse raising and a
variety of new agricultural crops and techniques to the Native
Americans. They left a dominant imprint on the architecture and culture
of the area. Tucson became part of Mexico in 1821 when Mexico gained its
independence from Spain. The American flag was raised over Tucson in
1846 by the commander of the Mormon Battalion during the Mexican War,
and the ensuing Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo in 1848 ceded most of
Arizona and New Mexico to the United States. In 1853 the Gadsden
Purchase added another 30,000 acres to the United States and drew the
US-Mexico border at its present location. Except for two brief periods
during the Civil War when Confederate soldiers raised their standard,
the Stars and Stripes has continued to fly over the city. Early Tucson
was an Overland Stage stop and major outpost against the Apaches. From
1867 to 1877, Tucson was the capital of the territory. The founding of
the University of Arizona paved the way for the modern city of today.
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Tucson Today
Nearly 860,000 people now live in metropolitan Tucson. Today's Tucson is
a unique blend of Western atmosphere and cosmopolitan style. The
architecture, the Native American and Spanish heritage, and the cultural
activities have created a special ambiance. Listen carefully, because if
the language you hear is not Spanish, it may be Yaqui or Papago, the
languages of earlier settlers. Or it could well be German, Grench or
Dutch. Foreigners sojourn to Tucson for reasons of culture, climate,
commerce and medical care. While its roots go back to the beginning of
recorded history, Tucson has a young, dynamic population. The average
age here is 30.6, compared with 33 for the United States as a whole. And
Tucson is just large enough to offer the perks of a big city and small
enough that natives express outrage if there is a ten-minute delay in
traffic.
It is a big city by virture of its land mass -- at 1632 square miles it
is three times larger than San Francisco. But it is small enough that
when hometowner Linda Ronstadt returns to perform -- usually singing in
both English and Spanish -- Tucsonans respectfully leave her be as she
walks with her family from a concert. The city of Tucson's neighborhoods
are now divided equally between newcomers and native Mexican-American
families. Several of these neighborhoods -- referred to as barrios --
are governed by strict historical status: Not a board comes down or goes
up without scrupulous analysis by a neighborhood association.
Because of its casual, welcoming atmosphere, Tucson was included in the
book, 50 Fabulous Places to Raise Your Family, by Lee and Saralee
Rosenberg (Career Press, 1993). In addition to rating Tucson schools as
"excellent" and describing its employment outlook as "one
of the fastest growing job markets in the U.S.," the author has
offered this ultimate high praise: "If you were to go to a drawing
board to create the ideal urban environment of the '90s, you'd be wise
to use Tucson as a model." Historically, agriculture and copper
mining were the basis of Southern Arizona's economies. Today, tourism is
a leading industry. The city's museums, festivals, specialty shops, and
recreation activities attract visitors from around the world.
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