Halchidoma

The Halchidhoma lived along the lower Colorado River, where riverbank settlements and fields formed part of a populous chain of Yuman-speaking communities. Their name has been interpreted as “people who live toward the water.” Seasonal floods watered the river’s bottomlands, making cultivation possible in a dry region. In 1604–1605 Juan de Oñate’s expedition encountered people identified as the Halchidhoma below the junction of the Colorado and Gila rivers. Later they formed alliances with the Maricopa and other neighbours in conflicts with the Quechan and Mojave. By the early nineteenth century warfare and movement had changed the position of communities along the river.