View source for Cocopah

===Post-contact===
The first significant contact of the Cocopah with [[European colonization of the Americas|Europeans and Africans]] probably occurred in 1540, when the [[Spanish colonization of the Americas|Spanish]] explorer [[Hernando de Alarcón]] sailed into the Colorado River delta. The Cocopah were specifically mentioned by name by the expedition of [[Juan de Oñate]] in 1605.

====Post-Mexican cession====
After the [[Mexican–American War|Mexican-American War]], Cocopah lands were split between the U.S. and Mexico through the [[Mexican Cession]] resulting from the [[Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]].

Westward expansion in the 1840s and the discovery of gold in California in 1849 brought many migrants through the area near the mouth of the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon region. The strategic importance of the river crossing was recognized by the U.S. government, and the United States Army established Camp Independence in 1850 to protect the entry route through the tribe's territories. Many tribes along the Colorado River entered the ferry business given its profitability, creating many jobs for the Cocopah.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=About Us - Cocopah Indian Tribe|url=https://www.cocopah.com/about-us.html|access-date=2020-09-06|website=www.cocopah.com}}</ref>

The Cocopah agreed to join Garra's Tax Revolt of 1851, led by the [[Cupeño]], to fight against the U.S. government alongside the [[Quechan]] and nearby [[Kumeyaay]] bands. Together, the Cocopah sieged Camp Independence but the siege fell apart after disputes with the Quechan over the distribution of sheep confiscated from white sheepherders earlier.

The Cocopah also entered the [[Yuma War]] following the tax revolt initially on the side of the Quechan against the U.S. After making peace with the U.S., the Cocopah allied with the [[Paipai people|Paipai]] and Halyikwamai and turned against the Quechan, after accumulating tension between the two tribes. War broke out in May 1853, when the Cocopah besieged three Quechan villages holding them hostage. In retaliation, the Quechan-allied Mohave backed the Quechan and raided the Cocopah. The Yuma War came to an end when the U.S. threatened the Mojave that they would intervene on the side of the Cocopah.

====Cocopah in the Mexican Revolution====
During the Mexican Revolution, the [[Magonistas]] gained the support of the Cocopah, under the influence of Camilo Jiménez, who was the tribal leader of the Cocopah in the Mexicali Valley. The Cocopah were sympathetic of the Magonist struggle against imperialism from both Mexico and the U.S., and the privatized ownership of their land. The Cocopah were joined by the Paipai, [[Kiliwa people|Kiliwa]], and Kumeyaay, and prepared to fight alongside the Magonistas, as Jiménez smuggled US arms to Mexico with the support of the [[Industrial Workers of the World]] (IWW).<ref name=":1">Muñoz, Gabriel Trujillo (2012). ''La utopía del norte fronterizo: La revolución anarcosindicalista de 1911''. San Ángel, Del. Álvaro Obregón, México, 01000, D. F: Instituto Nacional de Estudios Históricos de las Revoluciones de México. pp. 30–31. {{ISBN|978-607-7916-83-3}}.</ref>

On January 29, the Magonistas and the Cocopah [[Capture of Mexicali|captured Mexicali]] and provided further logistical support throughout their lands. Jiménez carried out a campaign with the Cocopah, Paipai, and Kiliwa armies from [[El Rosario, Baja California|El Rosario]] to [[Ensenada, Baja California|Ensenada]], raiding small towns and looting [[Chinese Mexican|Chinese-Mexican]] businesses.<ref name=":1" />

The Cocopah were eventually defeated by the Mexican forces in the following months and were forced off of their land by the Colorado River Land Company.<ref name=":1" />

====Modern era====
In 1964, the Cocopah Tribe of Arizona, on the U.S. side of the border, ratified its first constitution and formed a five-person Tribal Council in the [[Cocopah Indian Reservation]]. In the late 1970s and 1980s, the tribe acquired additional land, constructed homes, installed utilities, developed infrastructure, and initiated economic development.<ref name=":0" />