Books with information about
the saguaro or saguaro traditions

For Adults

Couplan, Francois, PhD . The Encyclopedia of Edible Plants of North America. New Canaan, CT: Keats Publishing, 1998.

Fontana, Bernard & John P. Schaefer. Of Earth and Little Rain: The Papago Indians. Flagstaff: Northland Press, 1981. Describes Tohono O’odham practices and rituals connected to seasons of the Sonoran Desert.

Hightower-Langston, Donna. The Native American World. Hoboken, NJ: J. Wiley, 2003.

Marshall, Ann. Rain: Native Expressions from the American Southwest. Phoenix: Heard Museum, 2000. Summer ceremonies, solstice ceremonies, rain.

Nabhan, Gary Paul. The Desert Smells Like Rain. San Francisco: Northpoint Press, 1982. Ecologist Dr. Nabhan celebrates the lives of Tohono O’odham people. Includes a vivid, lengthy description of summer Saguaro fruit gathering.

Owings, Alison. Hey Waitress, The USA From the Other Side of the Tray. Berkley CA: University of California Press, 2002.

Pritzker, Barry M. ed. A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture and Peoples. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.

For Children

Bash, Barbara. Desert Giant: The World of the Saguaro Cactus. Boston: Sierra Club/Little, Brown & Co, 1989.

Guiberson, Brenda Z. Cactus Hotel. Illustrated by Megan Lloyd. New York: Henry Holt & Co, 1991.

Jernigan, Gisela. Sonoran Seasons: A Year in the Desert. Illustrated by E. Wesley Jernigan. Tucson, AZ: Harbinger House, 1994.

Lazaroff, David. Correctamundo! Prickly Pete’s Guide to Desert Facts and Cactifacts. Illustrated by Preston Neel. Tucson, AZ: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, 2001.

Moreillon, Judi. Sing Down the Rain. Illustrated by Michael Chiago. Walnut, CA: Kiva Publishing, 1997.

Sonneborn, Liz. The New York Public Library Amazing Native American History: A Book of Answers for Kids. New York: Wiley, 1999.

Storad, Conrad J. and Elaine Joyal. Ancient Harvest Coloring/Learning Book. Illustrated by Donna S. Atwood. Phoenix: Donna Atwood Design, 2000.

Zoehfeld, Kathleen Weidner. Cactus Café, A Story of the Sonoran Desert. Illustrated by Paul Mirocha. San Francisco, CA: Children’s Book Press, 1997.

Websites

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Saguaro Recipes

Desert Lil’s Delicacies - gives story of harvesting, preparations, recipes, and photos. Saguaro Cactus statistics and interesting facts about the cactus.
www.desertusa.com/mag98/june/papr/jun_lil.html

Saguaro Fruit Jam
www.pepperfool.com/recipes/jams/saguaro_jam.html

The Tohono O’odham Culture

Brief article called "Native People: Tohono O'odham / Papago" - from the National Park Service
www.nps.gov/tuma/papago.html

Tohono O’odham Nation - information from the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc.
www.itcaonline.com/tribes_tohono.html

Heard Museum: Rain in the Southwest - information about the Tohono O'odham and their traditions related to rain (from a larger exhibition about rain).
www.heard.org/rain/cultura2/raincul2.html

Ofelia Zepeda’s poem on O’odham life - www.hanksville.org/storytellers/zepeda/poems/rain2.html

Related Activities

Try your Hand at Geents, an O’odham Game - instructions for playing the game (also on the Arizona State Museum website).
www.statemuseum.arizona.edu/activities/geents

Grow your own Saguaro Cactus - Saguaro seeds can be purchased through Native Seeds/ SEARCH, a non-profit retail store and resource for enthusiasts in Native American Agriculture. 526 N 4th Ave., Tucson, AZ 85719.
www.nativeseeds.org

Experience Saguaro at These Locations

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum - Check for annual saguaro harvesting programs. Participants embark on a guided nature walk, harvest saguaro, then return to the museum and process the harvested fruit. Call (520) 883-1380 for reservations.
www.desertmuseum.org

Colossal Cave Mountain Park - Check for annual Ha:San Bak: Saguaro Harvest Celebration.
www.colossalcave.com/welcome.html

Desert Botanical Garden - 1201 N Galvin Parkway, Phoenix, AZ 85008. See events page.
www.dbg.org

Saguaro National Park - Two locations: east and west of the city of Tucson.
www.saguaro.national-park.com