​Guevavi Mission Important to Indigenous Descendants

Guevavi Mission Important to Indigenous Descendants Who Once Lived Jere

A few years agoI brought 40 O’odham elders and community members from San Xavier to thislocation to reconnect with their Sobaipuri-O’odham heritage. They are thedirect descendants of the people who lived here and were ministered by Guevavimission. Most of what scholars know of their ancestors comes from Spanish documentaryrecords written at the time. This initial visit began a multi-year cooperative effort where Ilearn about their past with them. Archaeology is providing an important link tothe past for these indigenous descendants. More recent visits to the mission include a trip last spring by Wa:k O’odhamas part of a workshop. In this work I continue to work with the Wa:k O’odham tobring their history to the fore and revive memories of their ancestral past,while at the same time I am dedicated to uncovering aspects of the empirical archaeologicalrecord.