Sce:dagĭ Mu:val Va’aki

The City of Mesa acts as stewards of the O'odham ancestral site known as Sce:dagĭ Mu:val Va’aki. The City recognized the cultural importance of the site, which sits within its current boundaries, and took steps in the 1980s to ensure the site's protection. Today, the City and the Arizona Museum of Natural History are working in partnership with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and the Gila River Indian Community in this endeavor.

In keeping with this partnership, the site was renamed in November 2024. The name Sce:dagĭ Mu:val Va’aki, in the O’odham language, it means “Blue Fly’s place of dwelling” or “Blue Fly’s house.”  Sce:dagĭ Mu:val Va’aki, pronounced “CHUH-dag MOO-vahl VAH-kee", comes from a series of songs originating at the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, located only about one mile from the ancestral site. 

The ancestors of the modern O’odham built Sce:dagĭ Mu:val Va’aki near the head-gates of one of the largest and most sophisticated networks of irrigation canals created in the Americas. Sce:dagĭ Mu:val Va’aki featured a large platform mound that served as a civic and gathering center where administrative and religious activities were performed. It is estimated that the site controlled over 27,000 acres of highly productive farmland supporting a large community. 

The City of Mesa acknowledges that it gathers on the homeland of Native peoples and their ancestors, whose cultural values are deeply embedded in this landscape.

Check out our new Google 360 tour of Sce:dagĭ Mu:val Va’aki. Just click on the photo below and follow the arrows to navigate around the site.