The Tohono O’odham Nation has been treated unfairly since the Gadsden purchase of 1853. Their land was cut in half when the U.S. and Mexico border was created, and were forced onto a reservation after violently getting pushed out of Mexico. Ranchers began taking up the Southern Arizona grasslands to feed their cattle and directly competing with the O’odham farmers. Armed conflicts constantly occurred with Mexican citizens and the Tohono tribe, on the U.S. border farmers constantly complained about the Tohono cutting their fences.

The Tohono O’odham Nation was eventually granted three million acres to the West of Tucson, Arizona. After facing constant adversity the people of the Tohono O’odham Nation were able preserve their traditions and gatherings while building up a community. The Tohono O’odham Nation were able to create their own sovereign government, but in the mid-1980s tribal lawyers discovered the Winters Doctrine that gave the tribe most of the groundwater in the Santa Cruz Valley. The city of Tuscon relied heavily on well water and constantly bought farmland to get access to more groundwater. Eventually the federal government gave the Tohono O’odham Nation thousands of acres feet of water from the Central Arizona Project.

Ethically speaking, I do not believe the Tohono O’odham tribe was completely compensated for their losses when the U.S. annexed their land in the Gadsden purchase. I think they were fairly treated when they received three million acres dedicated to them. I believe the U.S. government also severely hindered the ability of the Tohono O’odham to establish a stable community. Ranchers constantly allowed cattle to graze on their lands, they received little help when being constantly raided by Apache warriors and also by Mexican citizens.

Based on the question “Have the Tohono O’odham been adequately compensated?”

While i think it is terrible what has happened and the trials and tribulations that the Tohono O’odham people have been forced to go through. The world is not a fair place, everybody needs to work and fight for their own needs.  I think the federal government has done everything it can to try and repay the water rights to the Tohono O’odham people. The government has even given them access to more water than they currently need. Plus the water will be provided without cost to the Tohono O’odham people, and they were given a $15 million trust fund to develop their own water resources(infrastructure). They also have been given 4,400 square miles of land. Which is 3,100 more acres than the entire state of Rhode Island. The fact that the Tohono O’odham people have decided to not develop their land into more is up to them, and this is exactly the principles that America was founded on. But they have been given the resources to help themselves. Its as the old saying goes “you can lead a horse to water, but you cant make him drink”.  They are effectively there own country within the US.

Like i said i think it is terrible the things they have gone through, but i feel the government has done what it can for the Native americans.

I don’t think the Tohono O’odham people had been treated truly fair after the Gadsden Purchase.  Their land got divided and they had to work and relocate in order to keep their people and their traditions together.  Luckily they were able to continue to go to school, and have the right to practice their religious beliefs, along with having access to more than one type of church.

From an ethical standpoint I think it is unfair for outside sources to demand that they need to move around to suit whatever the outside source needs.  By treating a group of people this way it sends a message that they are not important, and all of the work they put into establishing a place to live is disposable.

Looking at the legalities that were put into effect for the Tohono O’odham Nation it was disappointing to see that in the 1980’s they had to discover a legal decision that was made in 1908 called the Winters Doctrine that gave them rights to much of the ground water in their area.  This Doctrine should have been overlooked and found later on, the country should have been working to make sure that not only the Tohono O’odham Nation, but all reservations, were receiving all of their rights.  Once they had discovered that they weren’t receiving all of the things that were legally promised to them the president at the time, Jimmy Carter, encouraged them to use less water because the water was needed elsewhere.

The Tohono O’odham Nation some positive things going for them, but in the grand scheme of things were not treated correctly and both a legal and ethical level.  They should be treated as citizens, and should have access to everything that they were promised.

https://www.engineeringthepast.com/1247-2/