As the country looks ahead to America 250, one tour at Catalina State Park is encouraging visitors to look much further back than 1776.
Bonnie Bray has been leading groups through the park for nearly seven years, sharing the history of the people who once called the area home.
“The people that came here were part of the Hohokam culture, but they call themselves the Huhugam, or they're called the Huhugam people," Bray explains.
The name is interpreted as those who are “no longer” or those who are “all used up.”
“But who was here were the people that are called the Tohono people," Bray says, "and they're still here.”
The guided tour led visitors through the Romero Ruins Interpretive Trail – a 0.8-mile loop.
Along the way, visitors learn about a village where the “Three Sisters” — beans, corn and squash — helped sustain the community.
“They only needed two monsoon rains and 60 days to get corn on the cob, which is pretty amazing, so they could stay here in the summer and do that. These people were known as the village people," Bray explains.
The tour also stops at a ballcourt, which Bray describes as a place for both competition and community.
“You can see the burum around it where people are watching the game. They would use a ball; they would find a stone that was as round as they could find and they would peck it until it’s pretty round," Bray says.
As communities across the country prepare to commemorate America's 250th anniversary, Bray hopes the milestone also encourages people to explore the deeper history of the land beneath their feet.
“It can really be a strengthening tool for people to learn how to be more adaptive and to learn to live with the land and allow it to continue to grow and flourish," Bray says.
Catalina State Park offers many different trailheads for visitors to explore.
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Athena Kehoe is a reporter for KGUN 9, she joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2024 after graduating from Arizona State University. Share your story ideas with Athena by emailing athena.kehoe@kgun9.com or by connecting on X/Twitter.
