Map of Cocopah Indian Tribe, Arizona in 2026

In their own language the Cocopah call themselves Xawiƚƚ Kwñchawaay, “Those Who Live on the Cloudy River,” and the Colorado River runs along this map of their reservation. The Cocopah Indian Tribal Office, the Cocopah Casino & Resort, the Cocopah Bend RV & Golf Resort and the Wild River Family Entertainment Center are printed here, along with Mohawk Peak and the Bell Canal.

The Cocopah Indian Reservation is in Yuma County, in three separate sections northwest, southwest and south of the city of Yuma.

KNOWOL made this map in 2026 and gave it the look of an old atlas. The shaded relief of Mohawk Peak comes from United States Geological Survey elevation data, and the streets were drawn from Census Bureau files. The reservation covers about 10 square miles. Its largest section borders the Colorado River west of Somerton, and another lies just east of that town. At the 2000 census, 1,025 people lived on the reservation.

People of the river

The Cocopah language belongs to the Yuman family, and the people are also known as the Cucapá. Their ancestors lived along the Gila and Colorado rivers and in the lower Colorado River valley, in what archaeologists call the Patayan culture, from about 700 to 1550. They farmed the floodplains wherever they could and also hunted and gathered. The first real meeting with Europeans probably came in 1540, when the Spanish explorer Hernando de Alarcón sailed into the Colorado River delta, and the expedition of Juan de Oñate named the Cocopah in 1605.

After the Mexican-American War, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo split Cocopah lands between the United States and Mexico, and Cocopah people still live on both sides of the border, in Baja California and Sonora as well as in Arizona. When the California gold rush brought travelers past the mouth of the Colorado, the river crossing became important, and ferrying people across it was profitable work that gave many Cocopah jobs.

A reservation and a government

President Woodrow Wilson created the Cocopah Indian Reservation by executive order in 1917. In 1964 the Cocopah Tribe of Arizona ratified its first constitution and formed a five-person Tribal Council. Through the late 1970s and the 1980s the tribe acquired more land, built homes, installed utilities, developed its infrastructure and began economic development. In 1985 the Cocopah Land Acquisition Bill added 4,200 acres, including the northern part of the reservation. The Quechan, another Yuman people, live next door on the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation.

Around the reservation

The tribe runs the Cocopah Casino Resort in Somerton, and its Cocopah Resort and Conference Center there includes the Wild River Family Entertainment Center. There’s also a speedway and a bingo hall on the reservation. In 1996 it opened the Cocopah Museum and Cultural Center in Somerton, which holds exhibitions and a gift shop and hosts dances, hand games and other gatherings. The tribe keeps a dance ground, and its cultural resources department protects cultural sites and knowledge and gives Cocopah people access to them. The Cocopah Parks Community Center offers art, sports and music programs for tribal citizens. On important occasions, Cocopah people wear their customary ribbon shirts and ribbon dresses.

This map of the Cocopah Indian Tribe is a good addition to an office, library or den, and it can help teach children the geography and history of the area. It’s made for anyone who calls Cocopah Indian Tribe home, from the Tribal Office to the banks of the Colorado River, and KNOWOL created it in 2026 to show the land as it looks today. Zoom in on the preview above to explore the details, then click here to get your copy of the Cocopah Indian Tribe map.

Sources

• Cocopah, Wikipedia
• Cocopah Indian Reservation, Wikipedia