Trip 2

Tribal Nations of Arizona Tesla Road Trip 2019

Last summer, I took my son on a 31-day, 6,400-mile road trip in a Tesla Model 3 Electric Vehicle through ten U.S. States and two Canadian Provinces that my friends and others followed on my Tesla Road Trip blog and on social media. As we approached Whitefish, Montana, my friend Hans, a member of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, reached out to me and suggested that before I write my post about Glacier National Park, that I “look into the history and controversy between Glacier National Park and the Blackfeet Tribe.” Typically, I spent about 30 minutes researching a topic before writing my daily posts on the trip, but what I learned about the deceptions and inequities of the U.S. Government’s acquisition of the land that constituted the eastern half of Glacier National Park was startling to me and took the better part of a day to research and write. Having been raised by lawyers, I could clearly see the deception in the acquisition and subsequent disenfranchisement of the Blackfeet people. Although I kept what I had learned to a couple of paragraphs in my post, the experience opened my eyes to the greater inequities imposed by the United States with regards to indigenous peoples.

I first met Hans-Dieter “Hans” Stefan Klose at Valley Leadership in 1997. I was Board President and Hans was a member of the current class. Over the decades since, Hans and I have done business together and have remained good friends.

A couple of years ago, I was asked by Duane Roen, Dean of Arizona State University’s College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (CISA), to serve on his Advisory Council. Here, among other excellent programs I was introduced to ASU’s American Indian Student Support Services and was asked to address ASU’s SPIRIT program students. This sparked an interest to learn more about the indigenous cultures of Arizona. Impressed by ASU President Michael Crow’s Commitment to American Indian Tribes, the impetus to take a road trip to visit Arizona’s Tribal Nations was inspired when I attended an ASU American Indian Student Convocation in the Fall of 2017. I was eager to learn more.

Last December, four months after my Father-Son trip, I reached out to Hans and asked him if he would like to join me on a Tesla road trip to visit every Indian Community in Arizona. “Oh Yes!” he said, and planning commenced immediately.

On Thursday, May 2, 2019, Hans and I will embark on a 7-day, 2,200-mile road trip in a Tesla Model 3 visiting all twenty Tribal Nations of the State of Arizona. This road trip affords us an opportunity to spend more quality time together, sharing our stories.

My goals for the trip are to spend quality time with Hans learning about the diverse cultures that make up the indigenous peoples of our state, traverse Arizona roads I have not had previous opportunity to drive, and to contribute to the expansion of electric vehicle charging stations to bring more travelers to tribal tourist destinations.

Additionally, we hope to meet with Tribal high school students to talk about post-secondary educational opportunities including ASU, vocational, and aviation; and with tribal leaders and/or influencers about tourism, sustainability and renewable technologies.

Both Hans and I will post blogs daily. Stay tuned for links to our blog and social media.

– John S Martinson john@teslaroadtrip.blog

Itinerary

Thursday, May 2 | Scottsdale to Tucson | 215 mi. | 5+ hrs driving
– Scottsdale to Sacaton (Gila River Indian Community)
  o 34 mi. | 40 minutes
– Sacaton to Maricopa (Ak-Chin Indian Community)
  o 22 mi. | 32 minutes
– Maricopa to Sells (Tohono O’odham Nation)
  o 100 mi. | 1 hr 14 min
– Sells to Tucson (Pasqua-Yaqui Tribe)
  o 63.3 mi. | 1 hr 10 min

Friday, May 3 | Tucson to Fort Mohave | 477 mi. | 8.5+ hrs driving
– Tucson to Somerton (Cocopah Indian Tribe)
  o 248 mi. | 4 hours
– Somerton to Fort Yuma (Fort Yuma Quechan Tribe)
  o 16.9 mi. | 28 min
– Yuma to Morgantown (Colorado River Indian Tribes)
  o 95.1 mi. | 2 hours
– Morgantown to Fort Mohave (Fort Mohave Indian Tribe)
  o 117 mi. | 2 hrs

Saturday, May 4 | Fort Mohave to Prescott) | 305 miles | 6+ hrs driving
– Fort Mohave to Peach Springs (Hualapai Tribe)
  o 95.3 mi. | 2 hours
– Peach Springs to Camp Verde (Yavapai-Apache Tribe) via Cordes Lakes Supercharger
  o 168 mi. | 3 hours
– Camp Verde to Prescott (Yavapai-Prescott Tribe)
  o 42.4 miles | 1 hour

Sunday, May 5 | Prescott to Flagstaff | 371 mi. | 7+ hrs driving
– Prescott to Hualapai Hilltop (Havasupai Tribe)
  o 136 mi. | 3 hours
  o Helicopter to Supai
  o Helicopter back to Hualapai Hilltop
– Hualapai Hilltop to Flagstaff via Kingman Supercharger*
o 235 mi. | 4 hours

Friday, May 10 | Scottsdale to Scottsdale| 294.3 mi. | 7 hrs driving
– Scottsdale to Fort McDowell (Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation)
  o 24.6 mi. | 1 h
– Fort McDowell to Payson (Tonto-Apache Tribe)
  o 65.7 mi. | 1 h 10 m
– Payson to San Carlos (San Carlos Apache Tribe)
  o 102 mi. | 2 h
– San Carlos to Scottsdale (Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community)
  o 102 mi. | 2 h

Photo: John Martinson (left), Hans Klose (right)

Route Map

Tribal Nations of Arizona Tour - May 2019

Itinerary