The Tohono O'odham of United States

The Tohono O'odham of United States, numbering approximately 25,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an Uto-Aztecan ethnolinguistic group indigenous to the Sonoran desert in southern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico They are an Indigenous people, in the North American Indigenous people cluster of the North American Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Christianity - Protestantism. They primarily speak Tohono O’odham.

Tohono O'odham in Mexico photo
Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Tohono O'odham

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: American Peoples
Country: United States
People Cluster: North American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Tohono O’odham (ood)
Primary Religion(s): Christianity - Protestantism
Population: 25,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG043670
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Tohono O'odham of United States

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Christianity - Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

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Christianity - Protestant… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tohono O’odham
Language Family: Uto-Aztecan

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Tohono O’odham Speakers

Media Resources in Tohono O’odham:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Tohono O’odham:

Or check out the Tohono O’odham bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Tohono O'odham

The Tohono O'odham are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Tohono O'odham

The Tohono O'odham are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Next steps for the Tohono O'odham

The Tohono O'odham are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Tohono O'odham of United States

"...And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold." As he said these things, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
readLuke 8:8

Pray that the seeds of truth will take root in the hearts of those who are far from Jesus and that He will lead them from darkness to light.

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.
readActs 17:26-27

Pray that the lost will seek God and find Him, for He is not far from each one of us. Pray that they will have opportunities to access the gospel, learn God's purpose for their lives, and believe in Him.

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
readPsalm 121:1-2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and experience hardship, God will remind them that their help comes from the One who made heaven and earth and that He is powerful to meet their needs.

And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
readMatthew 10:14-15

Pray for God to raise up and send out believers to share the gospel with those in this people group who do not yet follow Christ. Pray that they will be welcomed with open arms so that the people they share with will hear and receive the good news with joy.

Tohono O'odham (ROP3 - 110410) reported in the following countries:

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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