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|death_place = ], ], United States |death_place = ], ], United States
|predecessor = ] |predecessor = ]
|known_for = Irataba was the last independent head chief of the Mohave. |known_for = Irataba was one of the last independent head chiefs of the Mohave.
|death_cause = Uncertain |death_cause = Uncertain
}} }}


'''Irataba''' (also known as '''Yara tav''', from the ]: ''eecheeyara tav''; {{circa|1814}} – 1874) was the last independent head chief of the ] of Native Americans. He was born near the ] in present-day Arizona. Renowned for his physical size and strength and gentle demeanor, Irataba was also a great orator and one of the first Mohave to speak English, which he put to productive use in developing relations with the United States. '''Irataba''' (also known as '''Yara tav''', from the ]: ''eecheeyara tav''; {{circa|1814}} – 1874) was one of the last independent head chiefs of the ] of Native Americans. He was born near the ] in present-day Arizona. Renowned for his physical size and strength and gentle demeanor, Irataba was also a great orator and one of the first Mohave to speak English, which he put to productive use in developing relations with the United States.


Irataba first encountered European Americans in 1854, when he and ], who was then the Mohave head chief, met Captain ], who was leading an expedition that crossed the Colorado. Several Mohave assisted the group as they crossed, and Cairook and Irataba agreed to escort them though the territory of the ] to the ], which would take them to southern California. Irataba later helped other expeditions to pass through the territory while protecting them from hostile tribes. This earned him a reputation amongst whites living near the Colorado as the most important native leader in the region. Irataba first encountered European Americans in 1854, when he and ], who was then the Mohave head chief, met Captain ], who was leading an expedition that crossed the Colorado. Several Mohave assisted the group as they crossed, and Cairook and Irataba agreed to escort them though the territory of the ] to the ], which would take them to southern California. Irataba later helped other expeditions to pass through the territory while protecting them from hostile tribes. This earned him a reputation amongst whites living near the Colorado as the most important native leader in the region.
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{{quote box|quote= The old man is here now with his tribe, but he looks feeble, wan, and grief stricken. Age has come to Irataba, but it has brought to him no bright and peaceful twilight. Dark and cheerless appear the skies of his declining years.{{sfn|Woodward|1953|p=67}}|source= —''The Arizona Weekly Miner'', February 5, 1870|width=25%|align=left|style=padding:10px;}} {{quote box|quote= The old man is here now with his tribe, but he looks feeble, wan, and grief stricken. Age has come to Irataba, but it has brought to him no bright and peaceful twilight. Dark and cheerless appear the skies of his declining years.{{sfn|Woodward|1953|p=67}}|source= —''The Arizona Weekly Miner'', February 5, 1870|width=25%|align=left|style=padding:10px;}}


By the late 1860s a strong rift had developed between Irataba, who was sympathetic to white settlement, and Seck-a-hoot, who vehemently opposed white encroachment on Mohave lands.{{sfn|Sherer|1966|pp=9, 30}} At one time, Seck-a-hoot briefly imprisoned Irataba in an effort to supplant him as head chief.{{sfn|Ricky|1999|p=102}} His influence waning, Irataba retired to a small ]-style house&nbsp;– the first such dwelling for a Mohave&nbsp;– where he lived out his final days.{{sfn|Scrivner|1970|pp=141–42}} A report by a US official visiting the Colorado River Indian Reservation in 1870 recorded that he was living near 800 others, and that attempts by the Mohave at agricultural cultivation on the site were restricted to an area of not more than {{convert|40|acres}}. He noted that they were adept at wood cutting, and traded timber with merchants arriving in steamboats along the river.{{sfn|Andrews|1870|p=647}} The Mohave never replaced Irataba; he was their last independent head chief when he died at the reservation on May 3 or 4, 1874.{{sfn|Woodward|1953|p=67}} Irataba's cause of death is unknown, but ] and natural causes are both cited.{{sfn|Ricky|1999|p=102}} The Mohave grieved deeply, and were so committed to Irataba's cremation ritual that they did more than just burn his body, hut, and belongings according to tradition&nbsp;– they burned their entire village, slaughtered the horses, and fasted for a prolonged period.<ref>{{harvnb|Woodward|1953|p=68}}; burned their entire village; {{harvnb|Omaha Daily Bee|1874|p=2}}: fasted for a prolonged period.</ref> By the late 1860s a strong rift had developed between Irataba, who was sympathetic to white settlement, and Seck-a-hoot, who vehemently opposed white encroachment on Mohave lands.{{sfn|Sherer|1966|pp=9, 30}} At one time, Seck-a-hoot briefly imprisoned Irataba in an effort to supplant him as head chief.{{sfn|Ricky|1999|p=102}} His influence waning, Irataba retired to a small ]-style house&nbsp;– the first such dwelling for a Mohave&nbsp;– where he lived out his final days.{{sfn|Scrivner|1970|pp=141–42}} A report by a US official visiting the Colorado River Indian Reservation in 1870 recorded that he was living near 800 others, and that attempts by the Mohave at agricultural cultivation on the site were restricted to an area of not more than {{convert|40|acres}}. He noted that they were adept at wood cutting, and traded timber with merchants arriving in steamboats along the river.{{sfn|Andrews|1870|p=647}} The Mohave never replaced Irataba; he was their head chief when he died at the reservation on May 3 or 4, 1874.{{sfn|Woodward|1953|p=67}} Irataba's cause of death is unknown, but ] and natural causes are both cited.{{sfn|Ricky|1999|p=102}} The Mohave grieved deeply, and were so committed to Irataba's cremation ritual that they did more than just burn his body, hut, and belongings according to tradition&nbsp;– they burned their entire village, slaughtered the horses, and fasted for a prolonged period.<ref>{{harvnb|Woodward|1953|p=68}}; burned their entire village; {{harvnb|Omaha Daily Bee|1874|p=2}}: fasted for a prolonged period.</ref>


==Legacy== ==Legacy==

Revision as of 21:42, 28 March 2015

Irataba
Irataba, c. 1864
Mohave leader
Preceded byCairook
Personal details
Bornc. 1814
Alta California, New Spain
DiedMay 3 or 4, 1874
Colorado River Indian Reservation, Arizona Territory, United States
Cause of deathUncertain
Known forIrataba was one of the last independent head chiefs of the Mohave.

Irataba (also known as Yara tav, from the Mohave: eecheeyara tav; c. 1814 – 1874) was one of the last independent head chiefs of the Mohave Nation of Native Americans. He was born near the Colorado River in present-day Arizona. Renowned for his physical size and strength and gentle demeanor, Irataba was also a great orator and one of the first Mohave to speak English, which he put to productive use in developing relations with the United States.

Irataba first encountered European Americans in 1854, when he and Cairook, who was then the Mohave head chief, met Captain Amiel Whipple, who was leading an expedition that crossed the Colorado. Several Mohave assisted the group as they crossed, and Cairook and Irataba agreed to escort them though the territory of the Paiute to the Old Spanish Trail, which would take them to southern California. Irataba later helped other expeditions to pass through the territory while protecting them from hostile tribes. This earned him a reputation amongst whites living near the Colorado as the most important native leader in the region.

In 1858, the Mohave attacked the Rose-Baley Party, the first emigrant wagon train to traverse Beale's Wagon Road though Mohave country; Irataba was believed to have distanced himself from the encounter. The US War Department responded by building Fort Mohave near the site of the battle in April 1859. They also imprisoned several Mohave leaders, including Chief Cairook. In June, Cairook was killed during an escape attempt, and Irataba was made principal chief of the Mohave Nation.

Irataba traveled to Washington, D.C., in 1864, for an official meeting with members of the United States military and its government, including President Abraham Lincoln. In doing so, he became the first Native American from the Southwestern United States to meet an American president. He received considerable attention during his tours of the US capital, and of New York City and Philadelphia, where he was given gifts such as medals, swords, photographs, and a silver-headed cane from Lincoln. When Irataba returned home and reported what he had seen, the Mohave accused him of lying. Soon afterward, an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Paiutes further eroded his influence. The Mohave never replaced Irataba as head chief; he was their last, and was mourned for a prolonged period after his death in 1874. The Irataba Society, a non-profit charity run by the Colorado River Indian Tribes, was established in 1970 in Parker, Arizona, where a sports venue, Irataba Hall, is also named after him. In 2002, the US Bureau of Land Management designated 32,745 acres (13,251 ha), contained largely within the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, as Ireteba Peaks Wilderness.

Background and appearance

A drawing of three Native Americans
Mohave people by Balduin Möllhausen, 1856

Irataba or Yara tav, from the Mohave eecheeyara tav (meaning "beautiful bird"), also rendered as Irateba, Arateve, and Yiratewa, was born into the Neolge, or Sun Fire clan of the Mohave Nation of Native Americans c. 1814. He lived in present-day Arizona, near the Nevada and California border, in the Mohave Valley by a group of sharply pointed rocks known as the Needles, south of where the Grand Canyon empties into the Mohave Canyon.

In the mid-19th century, the Mohave were composed of three regional groups; Irataba was a hereditary chief of the Huttoh Pah group, who lived near the east bank of the Colorado River and occupied the central portion of the Mohave Valley. Anthropologist Lorraine M. Sherer described Mohave leadership traditions as relayed to her by tribal elder, Gwegwi nuor: "The governmental 'set up' ... consisted of a system of hereditary tribal leaders or chiefs, a head chief of 'all the people', and a chief for each sub-group. The head chief was also the hereditary chief of one group. The Matha lyanthum and the Kavi lyanthum had one chief each, but the more populous Huttoh pah had five." According to Fulsom Charles Scrivner, author of Mohave People (1970), Irataba was born to an influential family, and his father was either a chief or was closely related to an important person. Unlike Europeans of royal descent, Mohave did not inherit leadership positions without first establishing their worthiness; further, "The Mohave must dream that he will be a leader and gradually work toward this end." According to anthropologist Alfred L. Kroeber, dreams, or visions, are "the foundation of Mohave life ... there is no people whose activities are more shaped by this psychic state." In Mohave culture: "it is dreams that are the cause of everything that happens."

The Mohave caught fish in the Colorado and hunted game, such as rabbits and beaver, using bow and arrow or traps. In the spring, when the river flooded the bottomlands, they cultivated corn, watermelons, beans, gourds, tobacco, and pumpkins. The Mohave lived in groups of houses along the riverbank, and eschewed centralized villages. During the winter, they lived in half-buried dwellings built with cottonwood logs and arrowweed covered in earth. In the summer they lived in open-air flat-roofed houses known as ramadas, which provided shade. Anthropologist Kenneth M. Stewart describes the Mohave as fierce warriors who were frequently the aggressors, particularly against the Chemehuevi, Paiute, and Maricopa peoples. Although they did not plunder their enemy's possessions, they took prisoners and scalps. According to Sherer, Irataba was a member of the Mohave warrior society called kwanami (Mohave for brave or fearless); "the men who devoted their lives to the defense of their nation".

is a big Indian, literally as well as figuratively ... granitic in appearance as one of the Lower Coast mountains, with a head only less in size to a buffalo's and a lower jaw massive enough to crush nuts or crush quartz.

 —Daily Evening Bulletin, December 2, 1863

According to Leanne Hinton, an expert in American Indian linguistics, Irataba was "an unusually eloquent and persuasive speaker" in his own language, and "probably the first Mojave to learn English". Like many Mohave men, Irataba grew to be very tall, particularly by 19th-century standards; the United States Army estimated his height at approximately 6 feet 4 inches (193 cm) in 1861. American author Albert S. Evans, writing in The Overland Monthly, referred to him as "the old desert giant". Irataba was one of the tribe's sub-chiefs, serving under Chief Cairook, a man even taller than himself with a barefoot height of nearly 6 feet 6 inches (198 cm). Edward Carlson, a soldier based at Fort Mohave who knew Irataba well in the 1860s, described him as having a "very powerful frame, but very gentle and kind in demeanor", noting that he was "a staunch friend of the whites".

Contact with emigrants and explorers

A black and white picture of a man with a moustacheAmiel Weeks WhippleA drawing of some people trading goods near a riverA drawing from the Whipple Expedition (1856) by Balduin Möllhausen

On March 19, 1851, most of the Oatman family, traveling by wagon train in what is now Arizona, were killed by what is believed to have been members of the Tolkepaya band of Western Yavapai. The Yavapai killed seven members of the family, but spared the lives of 14-year-old Olive Oatman and her 7-year-old sister, Mary Ann. After a year with the Yavapai, the girls were sold to Irataba and the Mohave. Mary Ann died two years later, and Olive remained in captivity until February 22, 1856, when she was released to Fort Yuma carpenter Henry Grinnell in return for two horses and some blankets and beads.

On February 23, 1854, Irataba, Chief Cairook, and other Mohave people encountered a large group of European Americans, including Captain Amiel Whipple and Lieutenant J.C. Ives, who were leading an expedition that crossed the Colorado en route to California. Whipple and his men counted six hundred Mohave gathered near their camp, eagerly trading corn, beans, squash, and wheat for beads and calico. By the end of their commerce, the party had purchased six bushels of corn and two hundred pounds of flour. The Mohave taught the explorers a traditional game played with a hoop and pole, and the two groups entertained themselves with target practice, the Mohave using bows and arrows and the whites firing pistols and rifles. When the expedition had difficulty crossing the Colorado on February 27, several Mohave jumped into the water and helped salvage the supplies. Irataba and Cairook agreed to escort the group across the territory of the Paiute to the Old Spanish Trail that would take them to southern California. German artist Balduin Möllhausen accompanied the Whipple expedition, and made drawings of several Mohave, including Irataba, whose rendering was featured in Ives's 1861 congressional report. According to anthropologist Albert B. Elsasser, Irataba "was surely among the first named likenesses of California Indians ever published". Irataba had previously assisted Captain Lorenzo Sitgreaves during his 1851 exploration of the Colorado.

A pencil drawing of a man wearing a loincloth and holding a bow in one hand and an arrow in the other
A rendering of Irataba by German artist Balduin Möllhausen

In October 1857, an expedition led by Edward Fitzgerald Beale was tasked with establishing a trade route along the 35th parallel from Fort Smith, Arkansas, to Los Angeles, California. From Fort Smith, his journey continued through Fort Defiance, Arizona, before crossing the Colorado near Needles, California. This route became known as Beale's Wagon Road and the location where Beale crossed the river, as Beale's Crossing. Beale's journal and subsequent report to the United States Secretary of War did not mention any problems with Irataba and the Mohave, but an assistant named Humphrey Stacy recorded that the Mohave had prevented Beale from traveling downriver.

In February 1858, Irataba and Cairook noticed a paddle steamer heading up the Mohave Canyon. When the boat stopped and its crew revealed themselves, Irataba quickly realized that their leader was his old friend, Lieutenant Ives. Ives was leading an expedition to the Grand Canyon in a steamship named the Explorer, and he asked Irataba to guide them into the canyon. Cairook agreed to this, and he and a Mohave boy named Nahvahroopa joined them. Möllhausen again accompanied the expedition, and was impressed with the Mohave guides, later noting his enthusiastic handshake with Irataba, lamenting that their only form of communication was sign language. He also noted that Irataba and the Mohave quickly took to wearing clothes given to them by members of the expedition, and had shown a growing interest in smoking tobacco, "if Irataba had allowed it, they would have traveled with us to the ends of the earth."

A report by Ives in 1861 documented that Irataba guided his party into the Mohave Canyon, indicating the location of sandbars and rapids and advising the Explorer's pilot regarding convenient places to anchor while camping for the night. As the expedition progressed, the rapids grew in strength and intensity, and the rock walls increasingly towered above them. When they reached the entrance to the Black Canyon of the Colorado, the ship crashed against a submerged rock, throwing several men overboard, dislodging the boiler, and damaging the wheelhouse. Ives explained how, using their skiff, they towed the Explorer to shore, where they camped for three days while making repairs to the badly damaged vessel. The expedition had relied on beans and corn provided by the Mohave during the previous weeks; as their supplies dwindled they grew increasingly anxious about the arrival of a resupply pack train en route from Fort Yuma. Irataba volunteered to hike towards the Mohave Valley to try to locate the supplies that had been requested several days earlier. He also warned that the expedition was being watched by Paiutes.

A black and white photograph of two Mohave men next to a river, 1871
Two Mohave men next to the Colorado River, 1871

When Irataba returned he informed Ives that he would not venture any deeper into the territory of the Hualapais, but agreed to help them locate friendly guides in the region before parting company. According to historian Natale A. Zappia, Irataba was reluctant to venture into the canyon because he feared the party would be ambushed by Paiutes aligned with Mormons. After enlisting three Hualapai guides, Irataba prepared to take his leave from the expedition and return to the Mohave community. On April 4, the Mohave received payment for their services, and according to Möllhausen, "Lieutenant Ives informed Irataba that he had been authorized by the 'Great Grandfather in Washington' to give him two mules ... for his loyalty and his trustworthiness so that he could take his possessions and those of his companions more conveniently to his home valley." The next morning, as they were preparing to leave: "Irataba was visibly moved ... and in his sincere eyes expressed so much honesty and loyalty as can only be found in an unspoiled nature ... I maintain that there was not one in our expedition who did not feel a certain sadness to see this huge man with ... a harmless soul leave."

Rose-Baley Party skirmish and aftermath

Main article: Mohave War
A black and white photo of three European American homesteaders and their wagon
European American homesteaders, c. late 19th century

In 1858, the Rose-Baley Party, the first emigrant train to venture onto Beale's Wagon Road, was harassed by Mohave warriors, who drove away and slaughtered many of the party's cattle. On August 30, three hundred Mohave warriors attacked the emigrants and eight members of the party – including five children – were killed, and thirteen were wounded. The emigrants killed seventeen Mohave warriors. With the wounded in one wagon, the children in another, and the healthy adults on foot, the party began the journey back to Albuquerque, 500 miles (800 km) away. According to Kroeber, "the event sealed the fate of the Mohave as an independent people."

When news of the attack reached California, the US War Department decided to establish a military fort at Beale's Crossing to protect white travelers, and on December 26, 1858, dispatched Colonel William Hoffman and fifty dragoons from Fort Tejon to cross the desert and confront the Mohave. According to Kroeber, Irataba attempted to arrange a peaceful meeting, but Hoffman ordered his troops to fire on the warriors, who attacked and repelled the force. Hoffman returned in April 1859, by way of Fort Yuma, with four companies of the 6th Infantry Regiment. When they arrived at Beale's Crossing, the Mohave decided against attacking the army of five hundred soldiers. Hoffman arranged for a meeting between him and his officers and Cairook and his sub-chiefs, with Pascual, chief of the Yumas, translating from English into Spanish, Yuman, and Mohave – and vice versa.

A black and white sketch of Fort Mohave in the late 19th century
A sketch of Fort Mohave in the late 19th century

Hoffman demanded that the Mohave agree never again to harm white settlers along the wagon trail, and when he asked which chief was responsible for the attack on the Rose-Baley Party, Cairook admitted that he had ordered it. Hoffman declared that, as punishment, the Mohave were required to surrender six prominent leaders and three warriors who had taken part in the massacre. Cairook offered himself as a hostage, and he and the others were transported in the river steamer, General Jessup, to Fort Yuma. In Scrivner's opinion, whereas Cairook helped lead the attack on the Rose-Baley Party, "it appears that Irataba stayed clear of the fracas"; Scrivner stated that "if Irataba had taken an active part he would have offered himself as prisoner", as did Cairook. Many soldiers remained to begin construction on the Beale's Crossing fort, which was named Fort Mohave. After its completion, Irataba and several hundred of his most ardent supporters moved to the Colorado River Valley, where in 1865 the Colorado River Indian Reservation was established. This marked the beginning of a rift between two rival factions of Mohave, the other led by an influential sub-chief named Homoseh quahote (Mohave for "orator of the stars"), known by the whites as Seck-a-hoot.

On June 21, 1859, Cairook and several others were killed by soldiers while attempting to escape their incarceration at Fort Yuma, which had exposed them to the desert's harsh elements. After Cairook's death, Irataba became the Mohave's head chief, and he attained the title of Aha macave yaltanack or hochoch, which designated him as the leader elected by the people. Settlers living near the Colorado viewed Irataba as the most important Indian chief in the region. With a large army of Mohave warriors under his command, he quickly earned a reputation as a strong leader. According to ethnographer George Devereux, white officials "tended to act on the assumption that Indian chiefs exercised absolute authority"; he describes Mohave government as "one of the least understood segments of Mohave culture", and notes that because Irataba was a traditional leader, he was "primarily a servant of the tribe".

In 1862, Irataba acted as a guide for the Walker Party Exploration, gold prospectors led by Joseph R. Walker and including Jack Swilling, who later founded Phoenix, Arizona. Irataba brought them to a river that he called Hasyamp, later officially named the Hassayampa River, where they found plentiful gold. Arizona's first mining district was established there the following year, which led to the founding of Prescott, Arizona, soon afterward. Relations between settlers and the Mohave were positive during this period, but as emigration increased, gold seekers founded a town nearby named La Paz, stirring fear among settlers of a native uprising against further encroachment on Mohave land.

Travels

A black and white photograph of Washington, D.C., in April 1865, with the Capital building in the background
Washington, D.C., April 1865

John Moss, an experienced prospector, suggested Irataba be brought to Washington so that he could see firsthand the United States' military might. In November 1863, Irataba traveled with Moss to San Pedro, Los Angeles, where they boarded the steamship Senator, bound for San Francisco. In San Francisco, he stayed at the Occidental Hotel and created a storm as he walked down Jackson Street, dressed in what Woodward described as "the full civilized costume" typical of European Americans, which Irataba soon preferred to traditional Mohave clothing. The press documented his every movement and wrote extensively about his physical size and strong features. According to Margot Mifflin, "in all his interviews he maintained the stoical and impassible bearing so peculiar to the red man of the forest".

Olive Oatman, a former captive of the Mohave

In January 1864, they sailed for New York City, by way of the Isthmus of Panama. Upon Irataba's arrival in New York, Harper's Weekly described him as "the finest specimen of unadulterated aboriginal on this continent". Here Irataba exchanged his suit and sombrero for the uniform and regalia of a major general, including a bright yellow sash and gold badge encrusted with precious stones. From it hung a medal that bore the inscription, "Irataba, Chief of the Mohaves, Arizona Territory". In February, when The New York Times asked him to explain the nature of his visit, he replied: "to see where so many pale faces come from". In New York he met with the former Mohave captive Olive Oatman. Despite her hatred of Indians, she was immediately impressed by him. She described the meeting: "It was a singular coincidence, that after the lapse of 8 years the wild savage and the released captive should again meet; not among the mountain solitudes of the Pacific slope; amid the filth and degradation of an unmitigated barbarism; but in the metropolis of the highest civilization; not in the wigwam; but in the beautiful adorned reception room at the Metropolitan. We met as friends giving the left hand in friendship, which is held as a sacred pledge, among some tribes." According to Mifflin, Irataba had stated to Oatman his desire that the Mohave become civilized, but author and veteran of the American Indian Wars John Penn Curry reported that Irataba told him: "Mericanos too much talk, too much eat, too much drink; no work, no raise pumpkins, corn, watermelons – all time walk, talk, drink – no good."

Irataba moved on to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., where he earned great acclaim; government officials and military officers lavished him with gifts of medals, swords, and photographs. In Washington he met with President Abraham Lincoln, who gave him a silver-headed cane "as a symbol of his chieftainship". He was the first Native American from the Southwestern United States to meet a US president. The tour ended in April, when he and Moss sailed to California, again by way of Panama, and made their way back to Beale's Crossing from Los Angeles by wagon.

Waning influence and death

Artist's impression of Irataba, February 1864

On his return from Washington D.C., Irataba met with the Mohave while dressed in his major general's uniform, which was covered in medals. He wore a European-style hat and carried a long Japanese sword, and he told the Mohave about all the things he had seen. He tried to convince them that peace with the United States was in their best interests, and that war against them was futile, stressing their dominant military capabilities. Nevertheless, according to Woodward the Mohave accused Irataba of telling "tall tales", and he was largely discredited.

Irataba continued to lead the Mohave in their conflicts with neighboring tribes. In March 1865, he and the Mohave defeated the Chemehuevi after their allies, the Paiutes, killed two Mohave women. To avoid fighting a two-front war, Irataba attacked the Chemehuevi first, then turned his attention to the Paiutes, who were planning an attack on the Mohave farm and granary on the Colorado's Cottonwood Island. During a subsequent battle with the Paiutes in October 1865, Irataba was taken prisoner while wearing his major general's uniform. From the island on which he was captured, Irataba ordered his people: "Let the women stay and burn all the crops and granaries and then go down-river for help". The Paiutes feared that killing him would invite repercussions from the soldiers stationed at Fort Mohave, so they instead stripped him naked and sent him home badly beaten. They gave his major general's uniform to his Mohave rival, Seck-a-hoot. This defeat further eroded Irataba's influence over the Mohave people.

The old man is here now with his tribe, but he looks feeble, wan, and grief stricken. Age has come to Irataba, but it has brought to him no bright and peaceful twilight. Dark and cheerless appear the skies of his declining years.

 —The Arizona Weekly Miner, February 5, 1870

By the late 1860s a strong rift had developed between Irataba, who was sympathetic to white settlement, and Seck-a-hoot, who vehemently opposed white encroachment on Mohave lands. At one time, Seck-a-hoot briefly imprisoned Irataba in an effort to supplant him as head chief. His influence waning, Irataba retired to a small adobe-style house – the first such dwelling for a Mohave – where he lived out his final days. A report by a US official visiting the Colorado River Indian Reservation in 1870 recorded that he was living near 800 others, and that attempts by the Mohave at agricultural cultivation on the site were restricted to an area of not more than 40 acres (16 ha). He noted that they were adept at wood cutting, and traded timber with merchants arriving in steamboats along the river. The Mohave never replaced Irataba; he was their head chief when he died at the reservation on May 3 or 4, 1874. Irataba's cause of death is unknown, but smallpox and natural causes are both cited. The Mohave grieved deeply, and were so committed to Irataba's cremation ritual that they did more than just burn his body, hut, and belongings according to tradition – they burned their entire village, slaughtered the horses, and fasted for a prolonged period.

Legacy

Regarding Irataba's legacy amongst the Mohave, in 1966 Sherer commented: "Estimation of his position in Mojave history from the Mojave viewpoint differs. To some he is an heroic figure, to others he was a white collaborator who did not stand up for Mojave rights. From the standpoint of white men who were conquering a wilderness, he was indeed the Mojave who worked unswervingly for peace." In 1970, the Irataba Society, a non-profit charity run by the Colorado River Indian Tribes, was established in Parker, Arizona. The charity held its 13th annual pow wow or National Indian Days celebration in September 1985. Irataba Hall, a sports venue in Parker, is also named after him. In 2002, the US Bureau of Land Management designated 32,745 acres (13,251 ha) of the Eldorado Mountains, contained largely within the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, as Ireteba Peaks Wilderness.

References

Notes

  1. After two days, Cairook departed and returned home.
  2. Tensions between Mormons and American emigrants reached their peak during 1857–58, with several hostile encounters collectively known as the Mormon War.
  3. Prior to his trip to Washington in 1863, Irataba had visited Los Angeles, first in 1860, and again in 1861.

Citations

  1. Ricky 1999, p. 100: born c. 1814 to the Sun Fire clan; Sherer 1966, p. 6: origin and variations of Irataba's name.
  2. Kroeber 1925, pp. 725–27.
  3. Sherer 1966, pp. 6, 29–30.
  4. Sherer 1966, pp. 29–30.
  5. Scrivner 1970, p. 127.
  6. Kroeber 1925, p. 755.
  7. Kroeber 1902, p. 280.
  8. Johansen & Pritzker 2007, p. 1019.
  9. Wilson 2000, p. 218.
  10. Moratto 2014, p. 347.
  11. Stewart 1971, pp. 431–44.
  12. Johansen & Pritzker 2007, p. 1019: the kwanami were a Mohave warrior society; Sherer 1966, p. 30: Irataba was a kwanami, which means brave or fearless.
  13. Hinton 1984, p. 281.
  14. ^ Ives 1861, p. 69.
  15. Evans 1869, p. 143.
  16. Ives 1861, pp. 68–9.
  17. ^ Mifflin 2009, p. 178.
  18. Braatz 2003, pp. 253–54.
  19. Mifflin 2009, pp. 104–7: Olive was released to Henry Grinnell; Putzi 2004, p. 177: Olive and Mary Ann taken captive.
  20. Whipple & Ives 1856, pp. 112–19.
  21. Whipple & Ives 1856, pp. 119–28.
  22. Elsasser 1977, p. 62.
  23. ^ Ricky 1999, p. 100.
  24. Digital Collections, The New York Public Library. "(still image), (1857)". The New York Public Library, Astor, Lennox, and Tilden Foundation. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  25. Thrapp 1991, p. 76.
  26. Utley 1981, p. 164.
  27. Sherer 1994, p. 69.
  28. Woodward 1953, p. 54.
  29. Woodward 1953, pp. 54–5.
  30. Woodward 1953, p. 55.
  31. Miller 1972, pp. 178–79, 182.
  32. Ives 1861, pp. 95–120.
  33. Ives 1861, pp. 81–4.
  34. Ives 1861, pp. 79–83.
  35. Ives 1861, pp. 94–7.
  36. Zappia 2014, pp. 121, 138.
  37. Baley 2002, p. 4, 14, 28, 131–32.
  38. Ives 1861, pp. 94–7, 102.
  39. ^ Miller 1972, p. 188.
  40. Baley 2002, pp. 2–3, 5, 15, 24, 28–40, 61–2, 67–72: emigrant train and attack; Zappia 2014, p. 129: seventeen Mohave warriors.
  41. Baley 2002, p. 72.
  42. Kroeber & Kroeber 1973, p. 53.
  43. ^ Woodward 1953, p. 58.
  44. Kroeber & Kroeber 1973, p. 63: Irataba attempted to arrange a peaceful meeting; Woodward 1953, p. 58: the Mohave attacked and repelled the force.
  45. ^ Woodward 1953, p. 59.
  46. Scrivner 1970, p. 133.
  47. Kroeber & Kroeber 1973, p. 24: soldiers remained to build a fort; Sherer 1965, p. 73: the fort was initially called Fort Colorado.
  48. Griffin-Pierce 2000, p. 246: relocating to the Colorado River Valley; Sherer 1966, p. 8: five to eight hundred supporters.
  49. Sherer 1966, pp. 4, 8–9.
  50. Woodward 1953, pp. 59–60.
  51. Scrivner 1970, p. 134: becoming head chief; Sherer 1966, pp. 5–6: attaining Aha macave yaltanack.
  52. Woodward 1953, p. 60.
  53. ^ New York Times & February 1864.
  54. Devereux 1951, pp. 35–6.
  55. Hanchett 1998, p. 9.
  56. Woodward 1953, pp. 60–1.
  57. Scrivner 1970, p. 135.
  58. Scrivner 1970, p. 134.
  59. Woodward 1953, pp. 61–2.
  60. O'Brien 2006, p. 249.
  61. Woodward 1953, p. 53.
  62. ^ Woodward 1953, pp. 62–3.
  63. Mifflin 2009, p. 180.
  64. Curry 1865, p. 360: "Mericanos too much talk"; Mifflin 2009, p. 180: Irataba wanted the Mohave to become civilized.
  65. Woodward 1953, p. 62.
  66. Ricky 1999, pp. 101–02.
  67. Carlson 1886, p. 492.
  68. Woodward 1953, pp. 63–4.
  69. ^ Ricky 1999, p. 102.
  70. ^ Woodward 1953, p. 66.
  71. Woodward 1953, pp. 64–5.
  72. ^ Daily Alta California 1865, p. 1.
  73. McNichols 1944, pp. 120–21.
  74. ^ Woodward 1953, p. 67.
  75. Sherer 1966, pp. 9, 30.
  76. Scrivner 1970, pp. 141–42.
  77. Andrews 1870, p. 647.
  78. Woodward 1953, p. 68; burned their entire village; Omaha Daily Bee 1874, p. 2: fasted for a prolonged period.
  79. Sherer 1966, pp. 30–1.
  80. Kulp 1974, p. 3.
  81. Cook 1985, p. B-2.
  82. The Yuma Daily Sun 1975, p. 3.
  83. Bureau of Land Management.

Sources

External links

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