6. Descriptions of the Collections


6.1 ARIZONA


 "Oh yes, said Senator Wade of Ohio. I have heard of that country (Arizona)--it is just like hell."

 This quote from Lawrence Clark Powell's Arizona: A History (1990) describes the typical attitude of
 19th century politicians. It was an attitude formed, in part, by the agricultural troubles of many of
 Arizona's early settlers--from the Spaniards to the Mormons. And even though Spanish explorers
 crossed Arizona almost 70 years before the English landed in Jamestown, the region was so remote and
 inhospitable, that it remained a virtual frontier until it attained statehood in 1912.

 For 3,000 years before Mormons came to Arizona, Native Americans successfully planted and harvested
 crops. In the 1200s, the Hohokam developed sophisticated irrigation systems, allowing them to harvest
 what was native to the desert: mesquite pods, agave, saguaro fruit, cholla buds and the greens of wild
 plants as described in Arizona: A History (1995) by Thomas E. Sheridan. The Upper Piman Indians who
 called themselves "Oodham" or "the people," were another agricultural success story. They strategically
 planted along the mudflats of the Gila and Lower Colorado Rivers. Perhaps the area's most ingenious
 farmers were the Hopi Indians, situated in northern Arizona, who successfully grew crops in the mantle of
 sand along their mesas. The sand trapped rainfall and snowmelt, allowing the Hopis to thrive in a land
 that averaged a mere ten to thirteen inches of rain per year.

 The flavor and texture of Arizona agriculture and society changed with the arrival of Spanish explorers
 and missionaries who traveled north from Mexico in the early 1500s. Settlements created by the Spanish
 missionaries in the Pimeria Alta (encompassing what is now southern Arizona and northern Sonora) in
 the late 1600s were the most lasting to date. The Jesuits wanted to settle Native Americans in villages,
 where conversion could take place more easily. Padre Eusebio Francisco Kino and his fellow
 missionaries knew that in order to convert the Indians, they had to change the way they lived. Thomas E.
 Sheridan explains that the Pimas appreciated the material gifts that Kino gave them: grain seeds,
 vegetables, fruit trees and small herds of livestock. These small, yet non-native gifts would play a
 significant role in Arizona's agricultural and socio-economic history. Many of Arizona's agricultural
 struggles center around the introduction of European plants and the quantity of water needed to sustain
 them.

 The discovery of silver by a Yaqui Indian in 1736 initiated a long struggle between European
 entrepreneurs and Jesuit missionaries. The miners and ranchers, interested in using Native American
 labor and resources, argued for removal of Native peoples from villages. The miners and ranchers
 persevered. Franciscan missionaries replaced the Jesuits after their expulsion from the area in 1767. The
 University of Arizona Library holds two outstanding 20th century archives of these Franciscan
 missionaries, which provide insight into Native American culture and society. Berard Haile (Papers,
 1893-1961) worked extensively with the Navajos and his papers deal with their religion and mythology.
 Francis J. Upleggar (Papers, 1867-1964) describes the Catholic missions and the lifestyles of Arizona's
 Apache Indians.

 Many miners led a nomadic life, and most pioneers who came to Arizona to get rich in the mines actually
 had to eke out a living by farming and ranching. Native Americans had to fight to preserve their
 agricultural lifestyle. Land became the symbol and the battleground between the budding capitalists
 from the eastern states, immigrants from Europe, and aboriginal Americans. The literature of the day
 reveals that the end of the 18th century through the 19th century in Arizona was a time of struggles
between Spanish and other European settlers, Mexicans, and Native Americans. Variations and
manifestations of this struggle continue today.