The Fort McDowell Yavapai, Apache & Mojave

Located just north of Phoenix, Arizona is the Fort McDowell Reservation. It is
home to three different tribes, the Apache, the Mojave and the Yavapai numbering a total
of around 600 individuals (REAI, 1). The Yavapai, known as the "People of the Sun"
(DAI, 455), originally inhabited an area of central Arizona stretching eastward from the
Colorado River and north of the Gila River (ENAT, 256). This is the largest of the three
reservations allocated to the Yavapai, the others being the tiny Yavapai-Prescott
Reservation further north (REAI, 3) and the Camp Verde Reservation, also to the north
(REAI, 1).

The Yavapai have frequently been confused with neighboring tribes and have
been known as the Mojave-Apache in the past. This former name sometimes makes the
identity of the resident tribes on the Fort McDowell reservation alternate between simply
the Yavapai: the Mojave and Apache, but not the Yavapai; and the Apache, Mojave and
the Yavapai which is the correct breakdown. The reservation, furthermore, is home to
two separate government entities, the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation and the Apache
Mojave Community of Fort McDowell.

Only the Yavapai of Fort McDowell are known to possess a flag. That flag is
light blue and bears the tribal seal in the center. NAVA member Harry Oswald was
permitted to photograph the flag of the Fort McDowell Yavapai that was located at the
local veterans organization hall. Attempts to locate a copy of the flag at other reservation
locations proved futile. Unlike many native nations engaging in the gaming industry, the
tribal flag does not fly outside the casino of the Yavapai. None were known to exist in
the tribal headquarters, the local gas station owner was hoping to obtain one and fly it at
his station.
Even the one that Mr. Oswald was permitted to photograph was rolled up and stored in a
closet! From the photo, it can be seen that the flag was made of silk, beautifully
embroidered and obviously intended for use in parades or ceremonies.

The seal on the flag however, is quite visible throughout the reservation. One
common location is in the sides of the cars employed by the Fort McDowell Police. The
seal pictures the Arizona landscape in shades of blue and green with the Rio Verde River
crossing the land shown in blue. Rising out of the mountains in the background are five
rays of the sun in yellow. The foreground is dominated by a Saguaro cactus on the right
and four different color arrowheads at the base of the seal. These arrowheads, possibly
evoking the sacred number four, for the directions, races of man, periods in man's life
and other important aspects of native belief and legend appear in white, blue, gold and
red.

The entire landscape is backdrop to the head of a bald eagle, sacred to many
native peoples and serving as the national symbol of the United States.

The seal is surrounded by a gold ring separated from the landscape by a wavy
black band. The gold ring is also separated from the light blue background of the flag by
a narrow black ring. On the gold band, in black capital letters appears the legend "Fort
McDowell Yavapai Reservation" arcing across the top of the ring, while "Arizona"
appears at the bottom,

Go on to the Ho-Chunk Flag