The
Pima (or
Akimel O'odham, also spelled
Akimel O'otham, "River People", formerly known as
Pima) are a group of
Indigenous Americans living in an area consisting of what is now central and
southern Arizona. Currently, the majority population of the surviving two bands of the Akimel O'odham are based in two reservations: the
Keli Akimel O'otham on the
Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) and the
On'k Akimel O'odham on the
Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (SRPMIC). They are also closely related to other river people, the
Ak-Chin O'odham, now forming the
Ak-Chin Indian Community, and the
Sobaipuri, whose descendants still reside on the
San Xavier Indian Reservation or Wa:k (together with the Tohono O'odham) and in the Salt River Indian Community. Together with the kindred
Tohono O'odham ("Desert People", formerly known as
Papagos) of Eastern Papagueria and the
Hia C-ed O'odham ("Sand Dune People", formerly known as
Sand Papagos) of the Western Papagueria they form the Upper O'otham or Upper Pima (also known as
Pima Alto).