Existing comment:
This Land is Home:
While the Verde Valley's Native farmers moved on by around 1425, others -- more reliant on hunting and gathering -- remained. They are represented today by the Wipukpaia (Northeastern Yavapai) and the Dil zho e (Tonto Apache). Both share a belief that Montezuma Well is their place of origin.
The hunter-gatherer lifestyle demanded portable and lightweight belongings; these mobile minimalists lived very lightly on the land. They survived environmental changes and social pressures through flexibility -- at least until the arrival of the Euro-American settlers in the 1860s. |