Stone Tepees

Sacaton, Arizona

What is the secret of the stone tepees? In my backroads travels, I found three pairs of these mysterious monuments in the desert surrounding the desert community of Sacaton on the Gila River Reservation. According to in an article by Sam Lowe, they were built in the 1930's as part of the government's WPA (Works Progress Administration) program. Other than this brief mention, I have not been able to find out anything else about them; the tepees themselves are accompanied by no signs or plaques. But from what I can see, the tepees (each about eight to ten feet tall) sit on either side of the old alignments of the major roads into the town. And at the base of several of them are the remains of metal plates holding colored glass (see detail photo below); perhaps the tepees were reflective road markers guiding drivers into the town. The tepees certainly reflect the cultural insensitivity of the era; the Native Americans in this region never built dwellings in the form of a tepee. If you know the history of Sacaton's stone tepees, or have historical photos of them, please write to me at the email address below.

Directions: One pair of tepees (one in ruins) is north of Sacaton, on the south side of Highway 87 on either side of Sacaton Road. A second pair is southeast of Sacaton, on the northeast corner of the intersection of Highways 87 and 187. A third pair is south of Sacaton, on the north side of Highway 187 between Highway 87 and Interstate 10, between mile markers 189 and 190.

Last visited: July 2008.

Standard disclaimer: Sites are described for entertainment purposes only, as they were at the time of my last visit. I can not vouch for the current condition of the site or its accessibility.