ABSTRACT

This essay is about the philosophical values expressed in the Origin Story of the Akimel O’odham, or Gila River Pima, who claim what is today southern Arizona as their homeland. Martínez presents the philosophical values described in the Origin Story of the Akimel O’odham. This is a cosmogonic tale derived from an earlier Huhugam civilization renowned for constructing an irrigation network capable of watering up to 400 square miles and sustaining large settlements. These indigenous populations have attracted the attention of anthropologists and ethnographers but Martínez is intent on extracting an implicit philosophical tradition, one that goes beyond the worldview that the land is inhabited by spirits, to reveal a body of knowledge about the land and environment.