The Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community signed a partnership with three cities in Arizona to promote Papago Park.

The park was designated as a reservation for the Maricopa and Pima tribes in 1879. Most of the park was sold to the city of Phoenix but the tribes maintain a connection to the land, which is rich in archaeological sites.

"These are sites that are not just important to the Indian community . . . they are important to the state," council member Ricardo Leonard told The Arizona Republic. "This history is what ties us together as Arizonans."

The tribe is paying for more than half of a $576,897 project to create a master plan for the park.

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Revival of Papago Park aligns past, future (The Arizona Republic 2/2)