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Traditional Saguaro Harvest in the Tucson Mountain District, Saguaro National Park Item Type Report Authors Toupal, Rebecca; Stoffle, Richard W.; Dobyns, Henry Publisher Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology, University of Arizona Download date 24/09/2021 04:17:32 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/279692 TRADITIONAL SAGUARO HARVEST IN THE TUCSON MOUNTAIN DISTRICT, SAGUARO NATIONAL PARK FINAL REPORT Prepared by Rebecca S. Toupal Henry F. Dobyns Richard W. Stoffle Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology University of Arizona Tucson, AZ 86721 BARA,. :.. i, December 15, 2006 TRADITIONAL SAGUARO HARVEST IN THE TUCSON MOUNTAIN DISTRICT, SAGUARO NATIONAL PARK FINAL REPORT Prepared by Rebecca S. Toupal Henry F. Dobyns Richard W. Stoffle Prepared for The National Park Service Cooperative Agreement Number 1248 -00 -002 R.W. Stoffle and R.S. Toupal, Principal Investigators Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology University of Arizona Tucson, AZ 86721 December 15, 2006 Table of Contents LIST OF TABLES iii LIST OF FIGURES iii FORWARD v EXECUTIVE SUMMARY vii CHAPTER ONE: STUDY OVERVIEW 1 Project Scope and Methodology 1 Research Team 3 Organization of the Report 3 CHAPTER TWO: AN ECOLOGY OF THE SAGUARO 4 Growth 6 Wildlife Use 13 CHAPTER THREE: AN ETHNOHISTORY OF THE SAGUARO FRUIT HARVEST 19 Land Use History 19 Cultural Changes 21 Spanish- Mexican Period 22 Anglo- Americaon Period 24 Contemporary Tohono O'odham Land Use 26 The TMD Saguaro Fruit Harvest Camp 28 Historic Perspective of Saguaro Use 29 Archaeological Perspectives of Saguaro Use 31 NPS Records of the Saguaro Fruit Harvest at TMD 33 Other Records of the Saguaro Fruit Harvest at TMD 40 Contemporary Ethnographic Accounts of the Saguaro Fruit Harvest in TMD 42 The Past 42 The Present 45 The Future 49 CHAPTER FOUR: THE CULTURAL ROLE OF THE SAGUARO 51 The Saguaro in Tohono O'odham Culture 51 Cosmology 51 Calendar 55 Saguaro Camp 56 Traditional Economic Importance 61 Saguaro Harvest 63 Saguaro Wine (Cactus Jack) 66 Ritual Alcohol Drinking 66 Aboriginal Ceremonies 67 Navai't Ritual 69 Vikita (Wiigita, Wí:gida, Wigita) 73 i Ethnobotany 75 Tohono O'odham Uses of Saguaro 76 Food 76 Ceremonial 78 Fiber 78 Manufacture 78 Trade 80 Other 80 Unspecified 80 Other Tribes Uses of Saguaro 81 Food 81 Medicine 83 Ceremonial 83 Fiber 83 Manufacture 83 Trade 84 Unspecified 84 CHAPTER FIVE: MANAGEMENT ASPECTS OF THE SAGUARO FRUIT HARVEST 86 Impacts of the Harvest 86 Ecological Impacts 86 Cultural Impacts 88 Traditional Knowledge and Management 89 Management Comments and Suggestions 91 Future Research 93 REFERENCES CITED 94 APPENDIX A: Presidential Proclamation #2032 Establishment of Saguaro National Monument (East) 113 APPENDIX B: Presidential Proclamation #3439 Establishment of Saguaro National Monument (West) 116 APPENDIX C: Special Directive 78 -1 Policy Guidelines for Native American Cultural Resources Management 118 APPENDIX D: 36CFR2.1(c)(1) Preservation of natural, cultural and archeological resources 122 APPENDIX E: Tohono O'odham Saguaro Fruit Gathering, University of Arizona Interview Form 125 ü List of Tables Table 1. Chronology of interactions with the Tohono O'odham Nation regarding the project and tribal participation. 2 Table 2. Classification of the saguaro 4 Table 3. Average Total Precipitation for Saguaro National Park 10 Table 4. O'odham saguaro terms 75 Table 5. Saguaro nutritional values 76 List of Figures Figure1. Mature saguaro 4 Figure2. Geographic distribution of the saguaro in the Sonoran Desert region 5 Figure3. Palo verde /saguaro desertscrub community 5 Figure4. Palo verde/bursage desertscrub community 5 Figure5. Triangle bursage 5 Figure6. Creosotebush 5 Figure7. Palo verde nurse tree 6 Figure8. Ironwood 7 Figure9. Elephant tree 7 Figure 10. Burro bush 7 Figure 11. Saltbush 7 Figure 12. Limberbush 7 Figure 13. Lomboy 7 Figure 14. Verdin 8 Figure 15. Ash -throated flycatcher 8 Figure 16. Curved -bill thrasher 8 Figure 17. Cactus wren 8 Figure 18. Northern cardinal 9 Figure 19. Bushtit 9 Figure 20. Desert iguana 9 Figure 21. Kangaroo rat 9 Figure 22. Age- height relationships of saguaros in Saguaro National Park 10 Figure 23. Jackrabbit 11 Figure 24. Desert woodrat 11 Figure 25. Gila woodpecker 12 Figure 26. Northern flicker 12 Figure 27. Callused galleries created by Cactoborsis larvae 12 Figure 28. Wildfire in saguaro habitat 13 Figure 29. Collared peccary 13 Figure 30. Bee pollinating saguaro 13 Figure 31. Mule deer 14 Figure 32. Desert bighorn sheep 14 iii Figure 33. Mourning dove 14 Figure 34. Mexican long- tongued bat 15 Figure 35. Lesser long -nosed bat 15 Figure 36. Western white -winged dove 15 Figure 37. Curved -bill thrasher 15 Figure 38. Gilded flicker 15 Figure 39. Scott's Oriole 15 Figure 40. Harris hawk 16 Figure 41. Redtail hawk 16 Figure 42. Gila woodpecker 17 Figure 43. Desert Purple Martin 17 Figure 44. Elf owl nesting in saguaro 17 Figure 45. Western screech owl nesting in saguaro 17 Figure 46. Great Horned owl nesting in saguaro 17 Figure 47. Inca dove nesting in saguaro 17 Figure 48. Ringtail cat in saguaro 17 Figure 49. Nesting white -wing dove and Gila woodpecker in saguaro 18 Figure 50. O'odham groups of the Pimería Alta 19 Figure 51. The traditional lands of the O'odham ethnic- linguistic group 20 Figure 52. Traditional O'odham Lands tended to be bounded by ridge lines of mountains21 Figure 53. O'odham reservations 26 Figure 54. Archaeological sites and Tohono O'odham saguaro harvesting camps in TMD 32 Figure 55. Patterns of stick game `dice' 80 Figure 56. Shells (Laevicardium elatum) etched with saguaro fruit acid 85 iv Forward The UofA team would like to thank to following people and groups who provided guidance, assistance, and/or materials for inclusion in this report. From the National Park Service, Dave Ruppert, Sarah Craighead, Mark Holden, and Andy L. Fisher. From the Western Archaeological Conservation Center, Susan Wells, Inara Edrington, and Giada Gallo. From the Tohono O'odham Nation, Chairwoman Vivian Juan -Saunders, Theresa Throssell, Adam Andrews, Peter Steere, Frances Conde and the Cultural Affairs Committee, Mike Flores and the Natural Resources Committee, Isidro Lopez, Delma Garcia, and the Legislative Council, and Stella Tucker. The following individuals provided images for the report: Paul Berquist Herbert Clarke John Crossley James R. Hill Boris Krylov Steve Maniscalco Mike Plagens John Sullivan Glenn and Martha Vargas v About the O'odham Tribal name Meanin Old name Reservations Tohono O'odham Desert People Papago Tohono O'odham, San Xavier, and Florence Community A'kimel O'odham River People Pima Gila River, Salt River, and Kokololoti Ak -chin Reservation/Community Tautaukwani Kohatk Hia -ced O'odham Sand People Sand Papago KEY Marti= LANDS USED SY Lake NIACED O RONAN (SAND PEOPLE) (SAND PAPAW)) 'Tecate LANDS USED NY TONONO O ODNAN (DESERT PEOPLE) (PAPADO) LANDS USED eY AKINIEL O ODNAN (RIVER PEOPLE) (PIMA) The Papaguería Traditional O'odham lands ( O'odham Jewed) vi Traditional Saguaro Harvest in the Tucson Mountain District, Saguaro National Park Executive Summary The Tucson Mountain District (TMD) of Saguaro National Park (SAGU), also known as Saguaro West, was established by Presidential Proclamation 3439 on November 17, 1961 to protect the saguaro and associated vegetation in the area. Saguaro National Park encompasses two units approximately 30 miles apart and separated by the city of Tucson, Arizona. The two park units comprise 91,400 acres, of which 71,400 acres are designated wilderness. The management of SAGU is carried out with consideration of several acts including the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (as amended), the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990, and various statutes, executive orders, and National Park Service (NPS) policies and guidelines. The NPS, consequently, strives to be responsive to the concerns of contemporary traditionally associated people. In SAGU's case, this predominantly refers to the Tohono O'odham Nation whose people have harvested a variety of wild food and medicinal plants from the region including the TMD. This report on the traditional saguaro fruit harvest in the TMD uses previously documented sources and contemporary ethnography to provide the agency with an ethnohistoric and ethnobotanic understanding of the Tohono O'odham and the saguaro harvest. Research Summary The overall objective for this report is to examine the Tohono O'odham people's traditional gathering and use of saguaro fruit in the TMD. It is intended to aid park planning and environmental assessment work, as well as other related management decisions. Potential use of this report includes updating and informing the park's cultural and natural resource programs, and public education programs. This report is based on an extensive literature review, meetings with the Tohono O'odham Legislative Council, and Natural Resource and Cultural Affairs committees, and ethnographic data from multi -generational saguaro fruit harvesters. A tribal election shortly after the project began altered the planned methodology of an extensive ethnography. UA and SAGU personnel worked together to explain the study to the new tribal councils and committees, some of whose members had reservations about the project, specifically referencing past abuses of cultural knowledge, and violations of intellectual property rights and copyright infringement of traditional symbols. These issues were not directed at the park but stemmed from problems with the general public. Based on tribal concerns, the focus of the study shifted to the existing harvest camps in TMD, an ethnohistory of harvest in TMD, and an ethnobotany of the saguaro. The 2004 harvest season provided our only access to field interactions with harvesters, however, it was vii a year of poor production and only a handful of people came to the camp in TMD. The ethnography, consequently, was limited to two individuals, one of whom wrote her account privately.

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