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  • Hia-Ced O'odham Faces
  • Bill Broyles (bio) and Rein Vanderpot (bio)

For the Hia-Ced O'odham, Quitobaquito had been a traditional village since before the coming of the first Europeans. But they were not sedentary people and moved frequently, depending on resources, jobs, harvests, celebrations, and family dynamics. Fillman Bell's Quitobaquito cemetery report (see Article 6) notes that a number of the older people had lived in 10 or more different villages, some as far apart as 130 miles, and reached only by foot. The O'odham in general are known for their mobility and foot races, but the Hia-Ced O'odham may have topped the class for distances traveled.

In the 1900s to 1910s many Quitobaquito residents moved to Bates Well, where they could ranch and grow gardens. Tom Childs and Rube Daniels, family members by marriage, lived there and drilled water wells. And as the copper mine at Ajo expanded in the 1920s and 1930s, most of them moved to new villages at Chico Shuni, where they could raise cattle, or Moik Vahia (Soft Well, Ajo), where they could work in the mine. Moik Vahia, near the Cardigan mining prospects southwest of the Ajo mine's large open pit, drew its name from a perennial well gouged into soft rock along an arroyo bank. But when the mine pit expanded, the village had to be moved, so some Hia-Ced O'odham chose to set up their homes at Darby Well.

Believing that it is easier to understand people if we can put a face with a name, here are some individuals found in Bell's report and some of their descendants who lived at 'A'al Vaipia (Quitobaquito), Chico Suni (Shunie, Shuni), or Darby Well villages. Sometimes, individuals had several names: Indian, English, Spanish, nicknames, and chosen names that they decided to call themselves. For example, a prominent figure in Carl Lumholtz's book New Trails in Mexico was Wialos Velasco, sometimes [End Page 606]


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Dr. Pancho (left) and Pedro, both Hia-Ced O'odham. Dr. Pancho, a "medicine man" or native healer living at Quitobaquito in 1909, was also known as Cara Colorado or Red Face. His Indian name was Bu'tanya'an [Vevtan 'a'an], meaning "a burst of wings like quail flying." (From Carl Lumholtz, 1912, New Trails in Mexico, New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, p. 318b.)

[End Page 607] called Kuscin (meaning "cocoon"), sometimes Friday, and at other times Augustine or Augustín. As Bell reminds us, "It is hard to identify the old people, because they don't continue with their given names." And, archaeologist Rick Martynec reinforces the point with a story: "Hillman Ortega's brother applied for a job at the mine and was told that mine policy permitted only one Indian per last name. The next day, and from then on, he went to work as Mr. Ortiz."


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Martha and Tom Childs, about 1905–1910. Their daughter Susan and son John were born at Quitobaquito, and daughter Betty was born at Bates Well. They later established a ranch at Hot Shot Well. (From Dan Rose, 1936, The Ancient Mines of Ajo, Ajo, self-published, p. 42b.)

[End Page 608]


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Francisco Shunie Sr., an early resident at Chico Shunie Village, after living at Bates Well. For years he was a cowboy for the Gray brothers. He was also known as Frank Zuñiga. Josephine Shunie (below) was his daughter, and Tulpo "Chico" Shunie (below) was his son. Following Hia-Ced O'odham custom, Francisco remained at the village to safeguard the water well. (Courtesy Lorraine Marquez Eiler.)

[End Page 609]


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Left to right: Inez Miranda (m. Antone), her sister Maria Elisia Adlina Miranda at age 13 (m. Neblina), and cousin Josephine Shunie, about 1925 at Chico Shunie Village (also called Santa Cruz), where they lived with their parents and grandparents. (Courtesy Lorraine Marquez Eiler.)

[End Page 610]


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Tulpo "Chico" Shunie, son of Francisco Shunie and brother of Josephine Shunie, at...

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