Tohono Oʼodham Indian Reservation facts for kids

Tohono Oʼodham flag.

A map showing where the Tohono Oʼodham Nation is located in Arizona.

The Tohono Oʼodham Indian Reservation is a special area of land in Arizona, United States. It belongs to the Tohono Oʼodham Nation, a Native American tribe. In the year 2000, about 10,787 people lived here.

This reservation is very large, covering about 11,243 square kilometers (or 4,341 square miles). This is almost all of the land owned by the Tohono Oʼodham Nation. The reservation stretches across parts of Pima, Pinal, and Maricopa counties in Arizona.

The land is also home to the Quinlan and Baboquivari Mountains. These mountains include Kitt Peak and Baboquivari Peak. Kitt Peak is famous for the Kitt Peak National Observatory, which has many large telescopes. The Tohono Oʼodham Nation leases this land for the observatory. This agreement was made in the 1950s.

Long ago, in 1694, Spanish explorers met the Tohono Oʼodham tribe. They wrote about a village called Batki. This village was later left empty around 1850. Batki was located in what is now the Sells District of the reservation.

Communities of the Tohono Oʼodham Nation

Many towns and villages are part of the Tohono Oʼodham Nation. These communities are where people live and gather.

Staying in Touch: Phone Services

If you need to call someone on the Tohono Oʼodham Reservation, the telephone area code is 520. This is the first three numbers you dial for phone calls in that area.