PARKER, ARIZONA AND COLORADO RIVER INDIAN TRIBES (CRIT)
CRIT POW WOW DANCE OCTOBER, 2007
The Colorado River Indian Reservation was established March 3, 1865 for the "Indians of said river and its tributaries". The Indigenous people were the agricultural Mohaves and the Chemehuevis. In 1945, a portion of the Reservation was reserved for colonization by Indians of other tribes, specifically the Hopis and Navajos.
The CRIT economy is centered around agriculture, recreation, as well as government and light industry. The fertile river bottom lands and available water allows the production of agricultural and produce such as cotton, alfalfa, wheat, feed grains, lettus and melons. Approximately 84,500 acres are now under cultivation and another 50,000 acres are available for development. CRIT has senior water rights to 717,000 acre feet of the Colorado River, which is almost one-third of the allotment for the state of Arizona.
Below is a young CRIT American Native of Parker, Arizona in her beautiful costume preparing for her Pow Wow dance competition.