Upland Yuman (Yavapai and Pai) Leadership across the Nineteenth Century

Abstract

In an earlier article in this journal I criticized the work of Henry Dobyns and Robert Euler, arguing that their analysis of preconquest Pai (Havasupai and Hualapai) Indians over-formalized Pai social and political structures. Shortly thereafter, an article by Dobyns and Euler appeared in which they reasserted their understanding of the existence and function of "subtribes" and "subchiefs." In the present article I begin by describing how leadership roles among the nineteenth-century Yavapai peoples (close cultural relatives of the Pais) changed in response to the pressures of non-Indian invasion and conquest. With Dobyns and Euler I recognize the importance of introducing to the historiography noteworthy leaders from those Southwest peoples frequently overlooked by scholars. However, I object to other arguments found in their recent article and I use this brief discussion of Yavapai history as a point of departure for my continued critique of their work.'