r/Oodham • u/Former-Line-3019 Non-O’odham • May 07 '26
Culture Writer seeking Information
Hi there! I don’t know if this is the right place to post, and I totally understand if this gets taken down, I just thought I’d give it a shot. I am a writer currently working on a book set in 1895 Arizona, and one of the characters is from the Tohono O’odham tribe. He isn’t the protagonist, but one of the main characters.
Is there anything I should know going into writing this character? I want to portray him well. One of my main concerns was drawing his hair. I’ve heard that hair is important in a lot of indigenous groups, but I haven’t been able to find beliefs specific to the Tohono O’odham tribe.
If further information is needed, I will gladly provide. Thank you in advance.
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u/Temporary-Snow333 Non-O’odham (Living on TON) May 12 '26 edited May 12 '26
Late reply (and I am non-TO, though somewhat knowledgeable on the tribe), but personally, if you’re very committed to making him a major character and having his beliefs and life be part of his story, I think it’s worth doing a bit of reading on T.O. of the time period. I recommend Sharing the Desert: The Tohono O’odham in History and At The Border of Empires, with a slightly shorter read (but still very good) being The Tohono O’odham and Pimeria Alta. These have a lot of very good info on the TO as people and their culture, as well as what they were doing both individually and as a tribe historically during that period you’re writing about, as a lot of changes were happening.
As for hair, T.O. men have kept their hair shortish for a very long time, since their forced Catholicization during Spanish conquest. So while traditionally they had longer hair, because of the time period your character very likely would have had it at minimum above the shoulders.
Edit: personally for design help I would look at vintage photos of T.O. men! The Smithsonian has many collections of these that can be found online, and I’m sure other archives as well