Spirit Mountain Casino Needles

LAUGHLIN — The Avi Resort & Casino and Spirit Mountain Casino have announced the temporarily suspension of all operations until July 10. As a result of the suspension, the July. Spirit Mountain Casino is located in Mohave Valley, Arizona - just across the Colorado River from Needles, California. The casino has 10,000 square feet of floor space consisting of 250 slot machines. There is a snack bar and restaurant with some items available 24 hours a day.

Mojave Indians are Pipa Aha Macav — “The People By The River.” Mojave culture traces the earthly origins of its people to Spirit Mountain, the highest peak in the Newberry Mountains, located northwest of the present reservation inside the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

The Tribe’s spirit mentor, Mutavilya, created the Colorado River, its plants and animals, and instructed the Pipa Aha Macav in the arts of civilization. They were prosperous farmers with well-established villages and trade networks that stretched as far away as the Pacific Ocean.

In the 16th Century, the time the Spanish arrived in the territory, the Mojaves were the largest concentration of people in the Southwest. With the ever-growing insurgence of non-Indian people to the region traditionally occupied by Pipa Aha Macav, a United States military outpost was established in 1859 on the east bank of the Colorado River to give safe passage to American immigrants traveling from east to west. Initially, this outpost was called Camp Colorado, but it was soon renamed Fort Mojave. After the military fort was closed in 1891, the buildings were transformed into a boarding school, which operated until 1930. Ruins of Fort Mojave still exist today as a reminder of the once-troubled historic relationship between Pipa Aha Macav and American civilization. The ruins are located on a bluff overlooking the Colorado River just south of the boundary of present-day Bullhead City.

The Fort Mojave Indian Reservation is located along the Colorado River in the vacinity of Needles, California. The Reservation covers nearly 42,000 acres in the tri-state area of Arizona, California, and Nevada. The land is divided into three major segments: 23,669 acres in Mojave County Arizona; 12,633 acres adjacent to Needles, California; and 5,582 acres in Clark County, Nevada. Tribal headquarters are located in Needles, California.

Recreation opportunities abound, whether it is gambling at one of the two Tribal casinos on the reservation, boating or fishing along the Colorado River, staying at the Avi Resort & Casino’s full-service hotel, hitting the links at the Mojave Resort PGA Championship Golf Course or enjoying the comforts of home away from home in the RV parks, located adjacent to either casino.

An annual Pow Wow each February brings Native Americans from tribes across the United States to a celebration that includes dance and music competitions and displays of many aspects of tribal culture. For information on the Tribe and its activities and attractions, call (760) 629-4591.

Aha Macav (Fort Mojave Indian Tribe)

The Lower Colorado River Basin has a rich and colorful history. The Aha Macav (now Federally designated as the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe) have managed the natural resources of their of their desert homeland for perhaps as long as 8,000 years. There is evidence to suggest that the ancestors of today’s Mojave people migrated into the mountains and valleys along the Colorado River soon after the last ice age.

The Mojave’s were prosperous farmers and had already established village and trade routes when the Spaniards encountered them in the 1700s. The first white men to visit the area were these Spanish explorers who heard the name as “mo-HA-vey” and spelled it Mojave. On hearing the Spanish pronunciation, English speakers spelled it Mohave; thus the two spellings in use today.

One hundred years later, the Mojave’s resisted the stream of migrants drawn west by the California gold rush. The resulting conflicts led to the establishment of Fort Mojave in 1859 on a bluff overlooking the place where the Mojave Road crossed the Colorado River.

After several years, the government built an Indian school on the site of Fort Mojave which had been abandoned in 1861. The Fort was reopened two years later with the advent of the Civil War and was closed permanently in 1890. Annual attendance at this boarding school for Native American children was over 300 students from various tribes in Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada. Life was harsh at this military-style school. For instance, students were punished for speaking their native language. The school closed in 1930. There is not much left on the site, but there are still vivid memories in the minds of several tribal elders who had been students at the school.

In the early days, the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe decided to use music in a gesture to bridge the gap between the cultures. They formed a band that was an immediate success. The band toured the region giving concerts. They performed at the dedication of Boulder Dam and many other significant events. The band is still a major function of the tribe today.

What has replaced the old fort and Indian school is the thriving communities of Fort Mojave and Mohave Valley.

Today, the Tribe is celebrating the many positive changes that have resulted from careful planning, sound investment and hard work. The Tribe’s agricultural operations are highly profitable and expanding. A tribally owned telecommunications company provides service to customers throughout the Mohave Valley. The Tribe’s convenience store is the highest grossing in Arizona.

The Tribe’s Avi Resort and Casino hotel has 302 rooms, a five-acre beach and lagoon on the Colorado River, an 18-hole championship golf course and an RV park. New houses, designed to capture the beautiful mountain views of the reservation’s desert setting, surround the golf course.

The Spirit Mountain Casino is a favorite gathering place for local people and the Tribe also owns a franchise JB’s Restaurant. Smith’s Food and Drugs is the anchor tenant in a new tribal shopping center. A 500-megawatt, gas-fired, electric generating plant has become a new landmark on land leased from the Tribe in southeast Mohave Valley.

Spirit Mountain Casino Hotel Specials

The Tribe’s electric utility company provides service to the expanding number of tribal enterprises. New roads and the newly constructed Veterans Memorial Bridge across the Colorado River benefit the Tribe’s neighbors while opening the Tribe’s Nevada lands to development. The new river crossing shortens travel distances and saves precious minutes for emergency response vehicles for all residents of southern Mohave Valley.

The Tribe is the largest employer in southern Mohave Valley. Tribal enterprises have made possible full employment for all tribal members who wish to work and have opened new employment opportunities for people from neighboring communities.

Income from tribal enterprises provides educational scholarships, cultural heritage preservation and new recreational and health care facilities for tribal members.

Today’s Mojave people look forward to expanding cultural and economic opportunities as a result of their diverse and prosperous economy. The Fort Mojave Indian Tribe is obviously an integral part of our community.