Sells, AZ

March 31,2011

Just got home from a trip east on Hwy 86 to Sells, AZ It is the “capitol” of the Tohono O’odham Nation (pronounced - ta Ho no a’Autumn ). I am not sure how a nation is different from a reservation, but it has to do with how their officials and law makers are selected. The T O nation covers a large portion of land in southern Arizona from Why on the west almost to Tucson on the east and from Casa Grande on the north to the Mexican border. The area is well over 2 million acres. Actually the original O’odham homeland was twice as large encompassing areas north to the Gila River and west to the Colorado River and south 100 miles into the Mexican state of Sonora. Then there were five member groups of the O’odham nation living and prospering in this harsh land. The white man, early Spaniards and later miners and settlers, both Mexican and American, pushed them off.

Sells is a little over sixty miles east of Why on Hwy 86 which is the route I would take to get from here to Tucson. Several times I have recommended to our visitors at Organ Pipe that if they are heading east, there is an interesting place to stop on the way. We have a small map that we give out to people that show interest. It was time to take our advice and check the place out.

The name of the place is Himdag Ki. ( I don’t know the pronunciation.) But it is the Tohono O’odham Nation Cultural Center and Museum. Finding it takes a map for it is not located on the main highway (Hwy 85). Instead, its home is ten miles south of Sells on BIA Hwy 19. Hwy 19 is not signed so you need to know where to turn south and then know to go that far south for you are a loooonngg way out of town before you come to a small sign that shows you that it is a ¼ mile to the left. The map helps because it points out several landmarks ( i.e. water towers, school) along the way.

The actual museum is worth the hunt. The building is less than ten years old and is a unique design of steel, wood, and stone with lots of curves and windows. The story of the O’odham people is told in English, Spanish, and in the O’odham language. The latter is quite a fete because the O’odham language was not written language for a long time and like many verbal languages as was in danger of disappearing. An effort was started on 1970 to preserve the language by writing it down and teaching it in the schools and using it. The language is surviving, although the elders are more likely to use it then the younger ones. There is a local radio station that broadcasts bilingual messages.

After our visit to Himdag Ki was finished, it was time for lunch. The Desert Rain Restaurant is in the Sells Plaza. The menu uses a blend of local foods such as Agave, cholla buds, mesquite buds in it wraps and soups and salads for a unique twist. The T O people have a unique physical makeup. Their bodies were designed to use the seeds, buds, and flowers of the local plants such as cholla, saguaro, organ pipe, and senita. Nutrition required hard work to get it and slow digestion to absorb the food value. It worked well for them and they were fit and healthy. Flash forward to fast food and packaged food have changed all of that. The diabetes rate among the T O people is almost 80% not to mention the other health problems that accompany it. This restaurant is proof that prepared food can be tasty, locally unique, and healthy.