Culture Center Celebrates Fort McDowell’s 121st Birthday
By Harrison J. Bahe
On September 15th, 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt signed an executive order which proclaimed that any lands not legally owned by the United States would be turned over to the Yavapai people inhabiting the land. Thus, the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation was born. 121 years later… We Are Still Here. That fateful day 121 years ago may have marked the titular birth of the community but, Culture Coordinator Clissene Lewis wishes to elaborate that the land itself has been with the Yavapai since time immemorial. “The significance of September 15th, 1903 is that we celebrate it as our birthday in this day and age, but it’s really an opportunity to reflect. We say it’s our birthday but we really don’t have a birthday. Through the Creator, we already existed. We have been here since time immemorial. Not just for us but for all Native nations and peoples.”
Geographically speaking, the Yavapai people have inhabited this land for thousands of years following historical and archaeological evidence. So, while President Theodore Roosevelt signed the executive order creating the reservation that would house the Yavapai people, the land itself already belonged to the people. “You can’t sign something that was already there; that’s already existed. That was from a different lens and that lens is acculturation and colonization.” Lewis goes on to explain.
To celebrate the 121st “birthday” of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Lewis invited the community to the Museum and Culture Center for some cake and ice cream and even had a table full of raffle items which attendees were automatically drawn into on arrival. The Yavapai people of Fort McDowell are very proud and have a long and storied past filled with both tragic losses and triumphant victories and the community remembers its checkered past with adoration and respect. “To reflect on the past is to reflect on our ancestors: our grandparents and great grandparents and great, great, great grandparents who made the long walk from the Rio Verde reservation to old San Carlos.” A hint of sorrow overcomes Lewis as she ruminates on her ancestors. “It was their sacrifices, it was their shoulders that we stand on and because of them, we have the opportunity to be the shoulders for that next generation, our children. That in of itself is a blessing.”
Happy 121st Birthday, Fort McDowell!
