Meet Derrick (Deersinger) Gonzales

“Deersinger is the traditional name I was given, but you can also call me Derrick. I come from the Tohono O’odham Nation, living in Sells, Arizona. To me, this is the motherland. I’m part Pascua Yaqui and Pima Maricopa as well.

As a child, I’ve always been fascinated with the world I’m living in: Seeing the beautiful landscapes when it’s green to when it’s brown, the smell of food and rain, to hearing traditional songs and modern music, to feeling the wind breeze, the hot, and the cold. My family says I have always had a pencil or markers in my hands. I can remember back when I was seven, I was messing around with colors, drawing figures, and the different things I saw at the traditional ceremonies.

As I grew up, the urban culture had an influence on my art style, getting messy with spray paint and paint markers. This influence helped me a lot by gaining an understanding of who I am, what kind of impact I can make, and the voice I have. Attending the Southwest University of Visual Arts just boosted my passion. I need to show what I’m capable of doing with my talents.

Being older and having all this experience within me, I want to express myself through the artwork, explain a little of what I know and have learned, and show examples of what my people did and the skills they had. I exercise the mind in the hopes of pushing one another for the future, for our little ones, and pay respect to the ones that were here before us. That is why I’m so excited to do this mural to showcase all the beautiful minds and talents we have living in this world with us. To all the animals, plants, ceremonies, tools, homes, and every living thing on this earth: I thank you!“

Tohono O’odham:

Historically, the O’odham inhabited an enormous area of land in the southwest, extending South to Sonora, Mexico, north to Central Arizona (just north of Phoenix, Arizona), west to the Gulf of California, and east to the San Pedro River. This land base was known as the Papagueria and it had been home to the O’odham for thousands of years. Thousands of years ago, our predecessors, the Hohokam, settled along the Salt, Gila, and Santa Cruz Rivers. The Hohokam were master dwellers of the desert, creating sophisticated canal systems to irrigate their crops of cotton, tobacco, corn, beans, and squash. They built vast ball courts and huge ceremonial mounds and left behind fine red-on-buff pottery and exquisite jewelry of stone, shell, and clay. Prior to the 1980s, the Tohono O’odham were known as the Papago Tribe.

Tumacácori National Historical Park (1691):

Missions were communities established to convert Native Peoples to Christianity and the Spanish way of life. Father Kino established Tumacácori as a mission in January 1691, one day before Guevavi, making it the oldest mission site in what is now Arizona. Services were held in a small adobe structure built by the Pima inhabitants of the village. After the Pima rebellion of 1751, the mission was moved to the present site on the west side of the river and renamed San José de Tumacácori. Here the first actual church edifice was built.

San Xavier del Bac (1692):

Construction of the current church began in 1783 and was completed in 1797. The oldest intact European structure in Arizona, the church’s interior is filled with marvelous original statuary and mural paintings. It is a place where visitors can truly step back in time and enter an authentic 18th Century space. The church retains its original purpose of ministering to the religious needs of its parishioners.

Tubac Presidio (1752):

The Tubac Presidio is the oldest fort and European village in Arizona. The diversity of inhabitants has evolved from the O’odham communities to the Spanish colonials, to migrating Mexicans, to European pioneers. Tubac’s historic significance is heightened by the rarity of presidio (Spanish fort) sites. San Ignacio de Tubac is one of only three presidios in Arizona. The Tubac Presidio became a State Park, thanks in large part to interested and generous residents of the community. Tubac Presidio State Historic Park was dedicated on Sunday, September 28, 1958.

Presidio San Agustin del Tucson (1775):

It was occupied in late October or early November of 1776. The fort initially had a small earthworks along the Santa Cruz River and Pennington (Calle de Arroyo) and had a wooden palisade along Church and the northern boundary.  By early 1783, after a large Apache attack, it was walled with thick adobe. The post was continually improved until it reached its maximum size of approximately 11 acres. Tucson was among the largest of the frontier presidios. Tucsons’ torreones (towers) were state of the art, allowing enfiladed defense along the walls. The square torreons are found on most post 1772 presidios.

Yoeme (1880s):

The Yaqui people have lived in the Gila and Santa Cruz River Valleys for hundreds of years. However, it was in the 1880s when Yaqui families began to move north from Sonora, Mexico into Arizona more permanently.  In the early 1900s, many Yaqui families were either forced to move or relocated to Arizona to escape the violence of the 1910-1920 Mexican Revolution. In 1964, the Pascua Yaquis received 202 acres of desert land, and in 1978, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona was federally recognized.

Capilla de San Martin de Porres (39th Church):

A space for cultural and religious gatherings for the Yaqui community, ceremonies such as the Feast Day of Saint Martin de Porres takes place here as Prayer Leaders, Kantoras and the oficios from the Pahko’ola the Wiko Yau’ra and Deer Dance Societies gather to participate in the ceremony. Located in Barrio Libre in South Tucson, this community has contributed to the history and diversity of the Tucson area.

Communities Today:

All the history described above has led to the diverse and growing communities we know and love today. The Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area remains a culturally and historically significant region thanks to the contributions and collaborations of the various cultures within our region. Our communities today were influenced and shaped by the contributions of the O’odham, the Yoeme, the Spaniards, the Mexicans, other European settlers, and everyone who has come to the region in between.

Santa Cruz River:

The Santa Cruz River is a natural treasure for three nations: United States, Tohono O’odham, and Mexico. The river is nationally unique in that it originates in the U.S., crosses into Mexico, and returns to the U.S. Rising in the San Rafael Valley of southern Arizona, it crosses south into Sonora, Mexico, then turns north to reenter the U.S. east of Nogales. It continues north to cross about a 10-mile stretch of the San Xavier District of the Tohono O’odham Nation, through Tucson, and then north-northwest to the Gila River west of Phoenix. In the Santa Cruz River watershed there are 90 miles of streams and rivers that flow year-round, supporting riparian habitats—on the banks of streams and rivers—that are both beautiful and integral to life in the desert. Several stretches of the Santa Cruz River and its tributaries have year-round surface flows and are accessible to the public.