Tohono Oʼodham Indian Reservation facts for kids

Tohono Oʼodham flag.

Map shows the location of the majority of the Tohono Oʼodham Nation in Pima County, highlighting the large Tohono Oʼodham Reservation as well as the smaller San Xavier Reservation in red. The non-contiguous segments in Maricopa and Pinal counties are not shown.

The Tohono Oʼodham Indian Reservation, is an Indian reservation of the Tohono Oʼodham Nation located in Arizona, United States. The reservation had a total 2000 census population of 10,787. The reservation has a land area of 4,340.984 square miles (11,243.098 km²), 97.48 percent of the Tohono Oʼodham Nation total area. The reservation encompasses portions of central Pima, southwestern Pinal, and southeastern Maricopa Counties.

The land is also site of the Quinlan and Baboquivari Mountains, which include Kitt Peak, and the Kitt Peak National Observatory and telescopes, as well as Baboquivari Peak. These astronomical sites are under lease from the Tohono Oʼodham Nation. The lease was approved by the council in the 1950s, for a one-time payment of US$25,000 plus $10 per acre per year.

When the Spaniards first encountered the tribe in 1694, they made note of one of the tribe's inhabited villages called Batki, a site that was later abandoned in about 1850. The village of Batki was located in what is now the Sells District of the Tohono O'odham Nation, in the upper Northwest corner of the reservation.

Tohono Oʼodham Nation communities

Communications

The telephone area code for the Tohono Oʼodham Reservation is 520.