Indigenous languages of Arizona

Arizona, a state in the southwestern region of the United States of America, is known for its high population of Native Americans. Arizona has the third highest number (and the sixth highest percentage) of Native Americans of any state in the Union (See Demographics of Arizona). Out of the entire US population of 2.9 million Native Americans,[1] roughly 286,680 live in Arizona, representing 10% of the country's total Native American population. Only California and Oklahoma have more Native Americans than Arizona by number. Arizona also has the highest proportion of land allocated to Native American reservations, at 28%.[2] Arizona has five of the twelve largest Indian reservations in the United States, including the largest, the Navajo Nation, and the third-largest, the Tohono O'odham Nation. Also, Arizona has the largest number of Native American language speakers in the United States.[3][4]

Distribution

There are twelve Native American languages spoken in Arizona, in addition to three other languages that are primarily spoken outside the state and one language with a disputed existence.

Population estimates are based on figures from Ethnologue and U.S. Census data, as given in sub-pages below. The twelve languages are shown in the table below:

LanguageClassificationNumber of speakersTotal ethnic populationTribe(s) includedLocation(s) in ArizonaSignificant external populations
NavajoNa-Dene: Southern Athabaskan170,000300,000NavajoNavajo NationNew Mexico
Western ApacheNa-Dene: Southern Athabaskan13,00020,000White Mountain Apache, San Carlos Apache, Tonto ApacheFort Apache Indian Reservation, San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, Yavapai-Apache Nation, Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Tonto Apache Tribecall/Tonto Apache Indian Reservation
YavapaiYuman: Pai1631,420YavapaiFort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Yavapai-Apache Nation, Yavapai-Prescott Tribe
Havasupai-HualapaiYuman: Pai1,5302,437Havasupai, HualapaiHavasupai Indian Reservation, Hualapai Indian Reservation
Quechan/YumaYuman: River2501,200QuechanFort Yuma Indian ReservationCalifornia
MojaveYuman: River100750MohaveFort Mojave Indian Reservation, Colorado River Indian ReservationCalifornia
MaricopaYuman: River160400MaricopaSalt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Gila River Indian Reservation (Maricopa Colony)
CocopahYuman: Delta4001,000CocopahCocopah Indian ReservationMexico (Baja California, Sonora)
HopiUto-Aztecan: Northern: Hopi5,00018,000HopiHopi Indian Reservation
Colorado River NumicUto-Aztecan: Northern: Numic2,0005,000Chemehuevi, Southern Paiute, UteSan Juan Southern Paiute Tribe of Arizona, Kaibab Indian Reservation, Colorado River Indian ReservationNevada, Utah, Colorado, California
O'odhamUto-Aztecan: Southern: Piman10,00020,000Akimel O'odham/Pima, Tohono O'odham/PapagoTohono O'odham Nation, Ak-Chin Indian Community, Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian CommunitySonora
YaquiUto-Aztecan: Southern: Taracahitic15,00025,000Yaqui peoplePascua Yaqui Indian Reservation, GuadalupeSonora (Yaqui River Valley)
HalchidhomaYuman?Halchidhoma

Other minority Native American languages

In addition to the languages listed in the table above, there are three other Native American languages spoken in Arizona that are primarily found in New Mexico, located immediately to the east:

See also

References

  1. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-04-29. Retrieved 2014-05-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) 2010 Census Bureau
  2. State DOTs and Native American Nations
  3. Navajo tops list of Native language speakers in US | CNS News
  4. Language Magazine » Census Shows Native Languages Count
  5. Newman, Stanley. (1996). Sketch of the Zuni language. In I. Goddard (Ed.) Handbook of North American Indians: Languages (Vol. 17, pp. 483–506). Washington: Smithsonian Institution.
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