The Fort Mojave Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation

Indian reservation

An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...

 along the Colorado River, currently encompassing 23,669 acre

Acre

The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...

s (96 km²) in Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

, 12,633 acres (51 km²) in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, and 5,582 acres (23 km²) in Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

. The reservation was originally established in 1870 and is now home to approximately 1,100 members of the Mohave

Mohave

Mohave or Mojave are a Native American people indigenous to the Colorado River in the Mojave Desert. The Fort Mojave Indian Reservation includes parts of California, Arizona, and Nevada...

 Tribe of Native Americans

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

. See also, the Mohave people.

Occupancy on Fort Mojave Indian Reservation lands, unlike that of many other Indian reservations in Arizona, is less than 50% Native American. The Mojave have leased much of their land to cotton

Cotton

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....

, corn

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

, and soybean

Soybean

The soybean or soya bean is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean which has numerous uses...

 farming companies, which employ a large population of resident whites and Mexican American

Mexican American

Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. As of July 2009, Mexican Americans make up 10.3% of the United States' population with over 31,689,000 Americans listed as of Mexican ancestry. Mexican Americans comprise 66% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States...

s.

On October 20, 2003, the reservation government announced an agreement between the reservation and California Governor Gray Davis

Gray Davis

Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis, Jr. is an American Democratic politician who served as California's 37th Governor from 1999 until being recalled in 2003...

 to allow the operation of an off-reservation casino

Casino

In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...

 west of Needles, California

Needles, California

Needles is a city located in the Mojave Desert on the western banks of the Colorado River in San Bernardino County, California. It is located in the Mohave Valley, which straddles the California–Arizona border. The city is accessible via Interstate 40 and U.S. Route 95...

 (directly across the Colorado River from the Tribe's Arizona Reservation Lands). If the deal is ratified, the Fort Mojave Reservation will be the first to have casinos in three states; the reservation operates the Avi Resort & Casino

Avi Resort & Casino

The Avi Resort & Casino is a resort located on the banks of the Colorado River between Laughlin, Nevada, and Needles, California it is owned by the Fort Mojave Tribe. It has 465 rooms, a casino, and a 260 space RV park with internet access.-History:...

 in Nevada and the Spirit Mountain Casino in Arizona.

Location

The Fort Mojave Indian Reservation is located at 34°56′34"N 114°36′33"W).

Communities

• Arizona Village, Arizona
  Arizona Village, Arizona
  Arizona Village is a census-designated place in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. The population was 351 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Arizona Village is located at ....
  
  
• Mesquite Creek, Arizona
  Mesquite Creek, Arizona
  Mesquite Creek is a census-designated place in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. The population was 205 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Mesquite Creek is located at ....
  
  
• Mohave Valley, Arizona
  Mohave Valley, Arizona
  Mohave Valley is a census-designated place in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. The population was 13,694 at the 2000 census. It is geographically connected to Needles, California and Bullhead City, Arizona....
  
   (part, population 121)
• Mojave Ranch Estates, Arizona
  Mojave Ranch Estates, Arizona
  Mojave Ranch Estates is a census-designated place in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. The population was 28 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Mojave Ranch Estates is located at ....
  
  
• Needles, California
  Needles, California
  Needles is a city located in the Mojave Desert on the western banks of the Colorado River in San Bernardino County, California. It is located in the Mohave Valley, which straddles the California–Arizona border. The city is accessible via Interstate 40 and U.S. Route 95...
  
  (part, population 208)

External links

• Page on the Reservation done by NAU
• Mohave Valley Chamber of Commerce history, including evolution of Fort Mojave into the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation.