… in Cottonwood, AZ, centered in the desert landscape of the Verde Valley, not far from the red rocks of Sedona and the mining ghost town of Jerome. In school, we’d visit local Native American sites like Tuzigoot (a pueblo on a hilltop) and Montezuma’s Castle (a cliff dwelling site).

As a result, I remember being fascinated by the Native culture in Arizona, from the Navajo in the northeast to the Pimas in the south.

But one culture that really caught my attention, mostly because (at the time) it was tough to learn anything, was the Papago tribe way down in southern Arizona.

This led me to do some research recently, and (as always) I was struck by what I found. There are lots of stories and insights here, and you could spend a lifetime on this topic. But for today, I have three Challenges to inspire a little bit of SearchResearch for you this week.

1. When I learned about the Papago tribe, I naturally assumed they were an Arizona tribe. But is that really true? Where are they located? Where are their historic tribal lands?

2. Who is John P. Harrington, and what relationship does he have to the Papago? What is he best known for?

3. In last week’s Challenge we learned about the Pacifica statue. Can you find a connection between the original Pacifica statue and the Papago?

4. I’d like to learn more about their spoken language: Can you find a recording of someone speaking it?


As always, let us know what you find, and just as importantly, HOW you found it. What resources did you seek out? Which worked well (and which didn’t).

Answers and comments next week!

Search on.