North Native American tribe of the Uto-Aztecan language family and of the Southwest culture area, living in the Salt and Gila river valleys in southern Arizona.

Traditionally, the Pima lived near the riverbanks and practiced intensive agriculture. Their farming methods differed sharply from those of other southwestern U.S. Native Americans.

The Pima, for example, dug irrigation canals using wooden tools. They lived in villages governed by an elected tribal chief and a council. Their homes were single-family domed huts made of mud and brush.

The first contact with the tribe was made by a European, the Jesuit missionary Eusebio Francisco Kino, in 1697; at that time they numbered some 4000.

In 1990 Pima descendants numbered 14,431, and most lived on the Salt River and Gila River reservations.

"Pima," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000 http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.