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TH E C H E M A W A
A M E R IC A N
U n fo rtu n ately , like m ost Indian tribes of N orth A m erica, these I n
dians have kept no w ritten history of past events. H ence, tradition to
a large degree offers th e only avenue of inform ation upon the past.
Sia ia ha, in th e estim ation of the Pim a, was the great d o m inating
spirit. T hey called him , E arth D octor, for they believed th at Sia ia ha
was the creator of earth and m an. From the depths of the m ighty blue
w aters, Sia ia ha brought forth clay and form ed it into the im age of his
likeness. T h is image he im bued w ith a portion of his own pow ers,
hence came th e red man and commenced his existence —so ru n s th e Pim a
Indian m yth. T h e m edicine man w ith his power of m ystery was a co n
nectin g link betw een the Indians and th e great and w onderful h ere
after, and he w ith the sway of his sacred feathers ruled the Indian m ind.
No forest surrounded th e Pima hom estead; no wild gam e could be
found; noth in g but the sage-brush, the cactus, the scorching desert
sands and rugged soaring m ou n tain s upon w hose tops the dead Gods
long since forgotten now lay in silence. But Sia ia ha the creator had
provided the Pim a w ith fertle lands in abundance and the G ila River
w hich furnished an unlim ited flow of w ater and w hat is m ore, he gave
to the Pim a a hand th at possessed a w illingness to w ork.
So in th e b eg inning the Pim as planned and constructed canals, m any
miles in len g th for irrig atin g purposes. W ith wooden shovels they
filled large baskets w ith d irt; these they carried on their backs to the
banks. T h e riv e r’s high bank fu rth er necessitated the construction of
a dam , made up of brush and wooden posts. T h is u n d erta k in g took
mar.v years and tradition says th a t w hen these had been accom plished,
th e w ater failed to en ter th e canals. T hen the toilers appealed to Sia
ia ha, the creator. Sia ia ha appeared on the scene. T h ro u g h songs
and in can tatio n s he made m agic, perform ing th is cerem ony four tim es.
Each tim e he sang the w ater rose in height and increased its flow and
th e fields received the m uch needed w ater. So for m any years the
Pim as, follow ing m ethods prim itive in form, were skilled, in d u strio u s
farm eis and were an independent trib e.
In th is legend of Sia ia ha, th e Pim a la th e r than saying th at he rolled
up his sleeves and forced th e w ater to en ter his canals, w hich he did,
m odestly attrib u tes such accom plishm ent to the power of his benefactor.
In 1872 th e w estw ard encroachm ent of a m ightier race w ith a m otto
upon a banner inscribed, “ T he Survival of the F itte s t,’’ began folding
its w ings round about the In d ian home. In a few years they took th at
w ater w hich had for ages served as a life-giver and it at once ceased to
flow. T h en the poor In d ian s were left below like d y in g fish in a d ry
ing stream .
H eretofore the Pim as had not refused food and shelter to m any a d is
couraged pioneer. T h ey had w illingly helped the g overnm ent in sub-