Adobe Gallery Blog

The Tohono O'odham have rejected the former name Papago, used by Europeans after being adopted by Spanish conquistadores from hearing other Piman bands call them Ba:bawĭkoʼa. The Pima (Akimel O'odham) were competitors and referred to the people as Ba:bawĭkoʼa, meaning "eating tepary beans." That word was pronounced Papago by the Spanish and adopted by later English speakers.

This cylindrical basket is one probably made in the pre-World War II period, to be sold to the tourist market.  It is too small to serve a function in a Native home.  The basket has a rich warm patina which attests to its age.  It has a design of stepped squares hooked to adjoining ones in chain-like manner.  The yucca is wrapped over a grass bundle and the design is made from the wild plant, Devil's Claw.

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