Francisco Chico

Francisco was a Pápago (Tohono O'odham) man
(Closely related to but not to be confused with the Akimel O'odham who were Pima Indians)

The Tohono Oʼodham are a Native American people of the Sonoran Desert, residing primarily in the U.S. state of Arizona and the northern Mexican state of Sonora. Their name translates to "desert people". The Tohono O'odham are believed to be descendants of the Hohokam, who lived in the desert along the Salt, Gila, and Santa Cruz Rivers.

The Papago lived in relatively small villages, of which over 80 have been identified. Lourdes Village where Francisco appears to have lived in the 1920 census had a population of 35 families, 169 persons. The San Xavier District is the original Papago Indian Reservation designated by Congress in 1874. Today it is one of eleven districts of the Tohono O'odham Nation.

Arizona Indian Reservations

Papago Indian Huts on Reservation near Tucson Arizona 1930s

Typical Papago Indian Homes, Arizona 1934, Courtesy of Pomona Public Library

Sells District - Village of Indian Oasis Early 1900s from https://www.sellsdistrict.com/history

Biography:
Francisco Chico was born c. 1876, lived in Lourdes Village (aka Little Tucson) of the Sells Agency, was married to Cecelia, and had 6 children. Lourdes is in the Sonoran Desert just southeast of Sells, AZ. Francisco and his family may have been what is referred to as Nomadic Papago, about 4,000 to 6,000 Papago Indians who moved in and around the Sonoran Desert for survival.

It appears that following his commitment to the Canton Asylum by the Sells Agency, continually poor paperwork management at the asylum changed his name to Chico Francisco.

He was Francisco Chico, married to a lady named Cecelia, and had 6 children between 1900 and 1916. He is listed in the Indian census by the Sells Agency for the years 1919 - 1921 as living in Lourdes Village which was probably a small Papago village that sprung up around Our Lady of Lourdes Mission a little east southeast of Sells, AZ. It was the 1923 Indian census of the Sells Agency that first annotated the census as "Insane"

According to Carla Joinson in her book Vanished in Hiawatha, Francisco was admitted to the Canton Asylum on April 23, 1923, and diagnosed with Mania (manic episodes). (A manic episode is characterized by a sustained period of abnormally elevated or irritable mood, intense energy, racing thoughts, and other extreme and exaggerated behaviors. People can also experience psychosis during manic episodes, including hallucinations and delusions, which indicate a separation from reality. Symptoms of mania can last for a week or more. Manic episodes may be interspersed with periods of depression, with symptoms of fatigue, sadness, and hopelessness.)

Francisco died in the asylum on April 17, 1927 (one record indicates a date of death as May 9, 1927) and, according to the letter dated February 23, 1934, from Dr. L.L. Culp to the Commissioners of Indian Affairs, was buried in the Canton Hiawtha Cemetery tier 2 plot 61.

His profile is part of the The Canton Asylum One Place Study.

Research Notes:
-alternate death date due to records discrepancy is May 9, 1927
-estimated birth in 1876 based on a note in Vanished in Hiawatha that Chico was age 51 at death
-The 1910 census of Arivaca, Pima, Arizona, United States has a family of Francisco Chico b. 1880, currently, there exists Arivaca Junction, which is just a few miles south of the San Xavier Papago Reservation
-The San Xavier Agency was established in 1902 by the Pima, Papago, and Maricopa Agency. The San Xavier Reservation was enlarged in 1917. In 1919, the superintendent (agent) moved to Indian Oasis and was renamed Sells Agency[1]. Hill, Edward E. (comp.). Guide to Records in the National Archives of the United States Relating to American Indians. Washington DC: National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration, 1981, pp. 173-175.
-The 1890 San Xavier census lists 352 Papago allottees but the Indian agents Wood, Snyder, and Whited estimated as many as 5,000 Papago Indians (important because the Papago seem to have Spanish/Mexican names while the Pima have Indian names and San Xavier has all Spanish names which seem to confirm Papago residents) A review of this census did NOT turn up either a Chico Francisco or a Francisco Chico. Conclusion: Franciso is neither an allotted nor unallotted Papago on the San Xavier Reservation...
-The census 1896, seems to indicate that the Papago NOT on the San Xavier Reservation were being counted but as Nomadic Papago,

and per the summary sheet located then in the Quijotoa Valley which is located on the map: https://artsourceinternational.com/shop/antique-maps/united-states/...
dead center Pima County at the intersection of meridians 32N and 112W.

Quijotoa Valley ravine (Curator Note: see in the lower right corner the CDP Arivaca, AZ) See detail at:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Quijotoa+Valley/@31.9959369,-112....
-A review of census records for the Pima Agency 1921-1924 shows only the Akĭ Ciñ O'odham (Papago) and there is neither an entry for Francisco nor Chico. Conclusion: Fernando Chico was NOT Ak-Chin Papago.

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(Curator Note: In the image above we see Our Lady Lourdes Mission near Sells AZ where the Agency that had jurisdiction over the Papago Indians was located, in the upper left we see Quijoita, and in the lower right we see Arivaca, both mentioned previously.) @ https://mapcarta.com/22960882/Map (The catholic church Our Lady of Lourdes in Benson, east southeast of Tucson did not arrive until 1931.))
-The 1923 Sells Agency census lists the Papgo villages referred to elsewhere @ https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll481unit/page/n276/mode/...

-It could be construed from the 1923 Indian Census by the Sells Agency that Francisco had 1 older brother and 5 younger siblings, but nothing ties them together as siblings.

Recommended Reading:
1. “Mission San Xavier Del Bac, Arizona - A Descriptive and Historical Guide.” Edited by Stephen Hutcheson, Mission San Xavier Del Bac, Arizona, by Work Projects Administration: A Project Gutenberg eBook, Arizona Pioneers Historical Society, 23 Sept. 2016, www.gutenberg.org/files/53127/53127-h/53127-h.htm.
2. Wikipedia contributors. "Mission San Xavier del Bac." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 10 Feb. 2024. Web. 14 Feb. 2024.
3. Arizona NHL San Xavier del Bac Mission, Record Group 79: Records of the National Park ServiceSeries: National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program RecordsFile Unit: National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records: Arizona @ https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75609548 (This is a large file and takes a while to download)

Historical Maps Worth Review:
-See https://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/nodes/view/273890
-See https://www.etsy.com/dk-en/listing/884512786/arizona-territory-1876...
-See https://www.worldmapsonline.com/historical-map-of-arizona-indian-la...
-See https://www.historicpictoric.com/products/historic-map-territory-ar...
-See https://www.amazon.com/Historic-Map-Territory-Arizona-Vintage/dp/B0...
-See https://artsourceinternational.com/shop/antique-maps/united-states/...
-See https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255571931198
-See https://www.ebay.com/itm/235275559230?itmmeta=01HPQ46NNT143TA26C4ZX...

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Sources:

1919 Jan - Indian census rolls, 1885-1940 [microform] by United States. National Archives and Records Service, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, M595, Reel 480 - Indians of North America--Census; Native American Census - Sells (Papago Indians): 1918-21, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll480unit/page/n67/mode/2up, pg. 70/996, line 46, census of the Papago Indians, Lourdes Village, Sells Agency, Arizona

1919 Jan - Indian census rolls, 1885-1940 [microform] by United States. National Archives and Records Service, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, M595, Reel 480 - Indians of North America--Census; Native American Census - Sells (Papago Indians): 1918-21, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll480unit/page/n67/mode/2up, pg. 301/996, line 46, census of the Papago Indians, Lourdes Village, Sells Agency, Arizona

(Curator Note: per letter dated 5/13/19(19), Superintendent McCormick states that the 1919 census of the Papago is the first and only census of the Papago except the San Xavier Papago. Note that this census is broken out by villages, confirming the previously stated opinion that the Papago lived in smaller villages as opposed to larger cantonments.)

1920 Jun 30 - Indian census rolls, 1885-1940 [microform] by United States. National Archives and Records Service, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, M595, Reel 480 - Indians of North America--Census; Native American Census - Sells (Papago Indians): 1918-21, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll480unit/page/n67/mode/2up, pg. 556/996, line 47, census of the Papago Indians, Lourdes Village, Sells Agency, Arizona

1920 Jun 30 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGKY-ZS52 : Fri Oct 06 00:49:38 UTC 2023), Entry for Francisco Chico, 1920, pg. 558/999, line 47, census of the Papago of Lourdes, Sells Agency, Arizo.

1921 Jun 30 - Indian census rolls, 1885-1940 [microform] by United States. National Archives and Records Service, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, M595, Reel 480 - Indians of North America--Census; Native American Census - Sells (Papago Indians): 1918-21, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll480unit/page/n67/mode/2up, pg. 822/996, line 48, census of the Papago Indians, Lourdes Village, Sells Agency, Arizona

1922 Jun 30 - Indian census rolls, 1885-1940 [microform] by United States. National Archives and Records Service, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, M595, Reel 480 - Indians of North America--Census; Native American Census - Sells (Papago Indians): 1918-21, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll480unit/page/n67/mode/2up, pg. 111/821, line 48, census of the Papago Indians, Lourdes Village, Sells Agency, Arizona

1923 Jun 30 - Indian census rolls, 1885-1940 [microform] by United States. National Archives and Records Service, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, M595, Reel 480 - Indians of North America--Census; Native American Census - Sells (Papago Indians): 1918-21, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll480unit/page/n67/mode/2up, pg. 379/821, line 48 (annotated "Insane"), census of the Papago Indians, Lourdes Village, Sells Agency, Arizona

1923 Jun 30 - Canton Insane Asylum: 1923-33; Cantonment School, pg. 370/1140: 1910-27, Series: Superintendents' Annual Narrative and Statistical Reports 1910 – 1935, Record Group 75: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20408 @ https://catalog.archives.gov/id/155855298?objectPage=31, line 10, Male census Canton Asylum

1924 Jun 30 (Lourdes Village) - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll481unit/page/n651/mode/.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 652/820, line 46 ("Insane")

1924 Jun 30 - Indian census rolls, 1885-1940 [microform] by United States. National Archives and Records Service, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, M595, Reel 480 - Indians of North America--Census; Native American Census - Sells (Papago Indians): 1918-21, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll480unit/page/n67/mode/2up, pg. 652/820, line 46 (annotated "Insane"), census of the Papago Indians, Lourdes Village, Sells Agency, Arizona

1924 Jun 30 - Canton Insane Asylum: 1923-33; Cantonment School, pg. 370/1140: 1910-27, Series: Superintendents' Annual Narrative and Statistical Reports 1910 – 1935, Record Group 75: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20408, line 12, male census Canton Asylum

1925 Jun 30 - Canton Insane Asylum: 1923-33; Cantonment School, pg. 370/1140: 1910-27, Series: Superintendents' Annual Narrative and Statistical Reports 1910 – 1935, Record Group 75: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20408 @ https://catalog.archives.gov/id/155855298?objectPage=116, line 12, male census Canton Asylum

1926 Jun 30 - Canton Insane Asylum: 1923-33; Cantonment School, pg. 370/1140: 1910-27, Series: Superintendents' Annual Narrative and Statistical Reports 1910 – 1935, Record Group 75: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20408 @ https://catalog.archives.gov/id/155855298?objectPage=167, line 11, male census Canton Asylum

1927 Apr 21 - Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14493917/chico-francisco: accessed February 14, 2024), memorial page for Chico Francisco (unknown–21 Apr 1927), Find a Grave Memorial ID 14493917, citing Hiawatha Asylum Cemetery, Canton, Lincoln County, South Dakota, USA; Maintained by Graveaddiction (contributor 46528400).

1927 Apr 21 - Hilton, M. (Ed.). (2023, July 10). Hiawatha Asylum for Insane Indians Historical Marker. Historical Marker. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=183486 Photo by Ruth VanSteenwyk, July 10, 2023, courtesy of HMdb.org

Anselmo Lucas 12-19-26 · Chico Francisco 4-21-27 · Roy Wolfe 3-31-28