Cocopah Tribe and Casino History

For over 3,000 years, the Cocopah (Kwapa) – the River People – have lived on the Lower Colorado River and Delta. As river people, the Cocopah traveled the waterways on log rafts, poling them down the mouth of the Colorado River to collect wild wheat and gather shellfish in estuarine waters. They fished for Colorado salmon and farmed in the flood plains of the wild river’s spring floods.

A generous and nonmaterialistic people, the Cocopah have maintained their traditional beliefs through a changing landscape and political environment. Ever resilient, during the Gold Rush Cocopah men became the captains of steamboats that traversed the mile-wide river. With the coming of railroads and the damming of the river for agriculture and the growth of cities, the Cocopah eventually expanded their reservation to comprise over 6,500 acres much of which is leased agricultural land to non-Indian farmers.

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Today, the Cocopah are major contributors to Arizona’s Tourist Industry with the newly opened Casino and Restaurant, an 18-hole golf course, Recreational Vehicle park and resort.

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