RESEARCH STARTER

Cotton and Native Americans

Cotton, specifically Gossypium herbaceum, has a rich and intricate history that intersects with the lives of Native Americans, particularly in the southwestern United States. This plant was independently domesticated in various regions, including coastal Peru, before spreading to North America through Central America and Mexico. The Hohokam people, who thrived in the Sonora Desert around 100 CE, were among the first in North America to cultivate cotton. They utilized this fiber to create essential items such as clothing and bags, while also extracting nutritious oil from the seeds.

The cultivation of cotton required advanced irrigation techniques, which the Hohokam developed to support their agricultural practices. Today, the Pima tribe, believed to be descendants of the Hohokam, continued to grow irrigated cotton when Spanish explorers first encountered them in the 17th century. Overall, cotton played a significant role in the agricultural and cultural practices of these Native American communities, reflecting their ingenuity and adaptability in resource management.

Full Article

  • TRIBES AFFECTED: Pima and tribes of Mexico, Central America, South America
  • SIGNIFICANCE: Cotton, a South American domesticate, spread to the American Southwest and was cultivated by the historic Pima for fiber and food.

Cotton (Gossypium herbaceum) has a highly complex domestication history with independent domestications in both Africa and South America. All cotton in pre-Columbian America descended from that domesticated in coastal Peru sometime before 4,000 BCE. Cotton spread northward through Central America and Mexico, finally entering North America in the Southwest. People of the Hohokam archaeological tradition, centered in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona and adjacent Mexico, were the first North Americans to use cotton, probably around 100 CE. They used the fiber for spinning thread from which clothing, bags, and other items were woven; they also used the seed for extracting its nutritious oil. Cotton requires a considerable amount of water for successful growth, and its cultivation likely spurred the development of the sophisticated irrigation systems developed by the Hohokam. The Pima, the Sonoran Desert tribe widely believed descended from the Hohokam, were growing irrigated cotton when the Spanish first encountered them in the seventeenth century.

Cotton was used for both food and fiber by tribes. Archaeological digs at Snaketown along the Gila River in Central Arizona revealed roasted cottonseed fragments dating to over a thousand years. When cotton became a common staple in the United States, colonizers displaced Indigenous people and took over their land to create cotton plantations. Despite this, some tribes continued to grow and use cotton over the centuries. In the twenty-first century, tribes have continued to cultivate cotton. Five tribes have large farming operations in the southwest that grow cotton.


Bibliography

Beckert, Sven. Empire of Cotton: A Global History. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2015.

"Cotton." The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=CO066.

Covington, Sha'mira. "Legacies of the U.S. Cotton Economy." BT Wholesale, 15 July 2020, brooklyntweed.com/blogs/blog/the-legacy-of-the-u-s-cotton-economy-by-sha-mira-covington. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025. 

Dattel, Gene. Cotton and Race in the Making of America: The Human Costs of Economic Power. Ivan R. Dee, 2009. 

Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne. An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States. Beacon Press, 2014.

"Hopi Short Staple Cotton." Native Seeds, www.nativeseeds.org/pages/hopi-short-staple-cotton. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025. 

Murphree, Brent. "Indian Farms Continue Link to Cotton." Cotton Farming, 1 Aug. 2013, www.cottonfarming.com/regional/indian-farms-continue-link-to-cotton. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025. 

Saunt, Claudio. Unworthy Republic: The Dispossession of Native Americans and the Road to Indian Territory. W. W. Norton, 2020.

Full Article

  • TRIBES AFFECTED: Pima and tribes of Mexico, Central America, South America
  • SIGNIFICANCE: Cotton, a South American domesticate, spread to the American Southwest and was cultivated by the historic Pima for fiber and food.

Cotton (Gossypium herbaceum) has a highly complex domestication history with independent domestications in both Africa and South America. All cotton in pre-Columbian America descended from that domesticated in coastal Peru sometime before 4,000 BCE. Cotton spread northward through Central America and Mexico, finally entering North America in the Southwest. People of the Hohokam archaeological tradition, centered in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona and adjacent Mexico, were the first North Americans to use cotton, probably around 100 CE. They used the fiber for spinning thread from which clothing, bags, and other items were woven; they also used the seed for extracting its nutritious oil. Cotton requires a considerable amount of water for successful growth, and its cultivation likely spurred the development of the sophisticated irrigation systems developed by the Hohokam. The Pima, the Sonoran Desert tribe widely believed descended from the Hohokam, were growing irrigated cotton when the Spanish first encountered them in the seventeenth century.

Cotton was used for both food and fiber by tribes. Archaeological digs at Snaketown along the Gila River in Central Arizona revealed roasted cottonseed fragments dating to over a thousand years. When cotton became a common staple in the United States, colonizers displaced Indigenous people and took over their land to create cotton plantations. Despite this, some tribes continued to grow and use cotton over the centuries. In the twenty-first century, tribes have continued to cultivate cotton. Five tribes have large farming operations in the southwest that grow cotton.


Bibliography

Beckert, Sven. Empire of Cotton: A Global History. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2015.

"Cotton." The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=CO066.

Covington, Sha'mira. "Legacies of the U.S. Cotton Economy." BT Wholesale, 15 July 2020, brooklyntweed.com/blogs/blog/the-legacy-of-the-u-s-cotton-economy-by-sha-mira-covington. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025. 

Dattel, Gene. Cotton and Race in the Making of America: The Human Costs of Economic Power. Ivan R. Dee, 2009. 

Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne. An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States. Beacon Press, 2014.

"Hopi Short Staple Cotton." Native Seeds, www.nativeseeds.org/pages/hopi-short-staple-cotton. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025. 

Murphree, Brent. "Indian Farms Continue Link to Cotton." Cotton Farming, 1 Aug. 2013, www.cottonfarming.com/regional/indian-farms-continue-link-to-cotton. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025. 

Saunt, Claudio. Unworthy Republic: The Dispossession of Native Americans and the Road to Indian Territory. W. W. Norton, 2020.

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