Cocopah-- Significance of name unknown.
Connections.- The Cocopa belong to the Yuman linguistic family a branch of the Hokan stock.
Location.- About the mouth of Colorado River.
Subdivisions- River Cocopa and Mountain Cocopa. Cuculato and Llagas are also mentioned, the latter a name applied by the Spaniards to a group of villages.
History.- Without question this tribe was first met by Hernando de Alarcon in 1540. They are mentioned by Onate in 1604-5, by Kino in 1701-2 under the name "Hogiopas," and by Francisco Garces in 1776. Most of their territory was outside of the limits of the United States, but a small part of it passed under United States Government control with the Gadsden Purchase. Those Cocopa who remained on the northern side of the International Boundary were placed on the Colorado River Reservation.
Population.- Garces estimated 3,000 in 1776. In 1857 Heintzelman placed the former strength of the tribe at about 300 warriors. There are now said to be 800 in northern Baja California. There were 99 in the United States in 1930, and 41 in 1937.
Webpages
Cocopah Indian Reservation
http://www.cocopah.com/
http://www.primenet.com/~itca/Tribes/cocopah.htm
Community Profile-Arizona Department of Commerce
http://www.commerce.state.az.us/pdf/commasst/comm/cocopah.pdf
Southwest Indian People: Yuma, Cocopah, and Maricopa
http://www.cinprograms.org/people/coloradoriver/yuma.html
Books/Manuscripts
The Cocopah people / by Anita Alvarez de Williams.
E99
.C842 W54
Cocopa ethnography / William H. Kelly.
E99
.C842 K44
Travelers among the Cucapá / Anita Alvarez de Williams.
E99
.C842 W55
