Official Web Site of the City of Phoenix

This work is currently in storage.

For this project, the artist created a triptych painting, framed into the 10’ x 14’ entry wall niche, which depicts a Native American saguaro fruit harvest ritual and wine ceremony.



Michael Chiago paints his people, the Tohono O’odham, whose traditions are said to be part of the Sonoran Desert and related to nature. His strong sense of identity and pride in his culture contributes to his ability to engage viewers in a rich visual experience while teaching viewers about the diversity of the population in Phoenix.

The Tohono O'odham live on the second largest reservation in the United States, which stretches for over a hundred miles along the Mexico/Arizona border and extends far into Southern Arizona. Traditionally, they followed a unique agricultural system designed to take advantage of heavy flooding that follows summer thundershowers in this desert country. Few contemporary O'odham grow their traditional crops any more, however, and most live in permanent villages watered by deep wells or in the cities surrounding their reservation.

This three-part mural depicts the Tohono O’odham harvesting the fruit of the saguaro cactus. The fruit’s juice is allowed to ferment for three days during which time the Tohono O’odham sing rain songs and dance. At noon of the third day, the headman recites poems about rain and harvesting and the men and women sit in a circle and pass the basket of wine until it is drained.

About the Artist
Artist Michael Chiago is a self-taught artist who paints the everyday and ceremonial life of his people. He has won numerous awards for his work, which has been exhibited across America and abroad.