Si We:begi Ha Ñeid

Long before Tucson had a name in English, it had one in O'odham: Chuk Shon, black base, for the dark volcanic foot of the peak now crowned with a giant letter A. This monument on that hill, Sentinel Peak, marks the O'odham's first sighting of Europeans. The Desert People had farmed this valley for some four thousand years when Father Kino rode up the Santa Cruz in 1692, and the city took its name from their village here. They never left.

What the plaque says

Primera Vista. The First Sighting. This monument represents the first sighting of Europeans by the O'odham who lived on the traditional sacred ground at the base of Chuk Shon (known today as Sentinel Peak). The O'odham and their ancestors, the First People of the Tucson Basin, have lived here for over 4,000 years. The first recorded visit to the Tucson region by a European was made by Padre Eusebio Francisco Kino in 1692 when he visited O'odham villages in the area, including what is known today as Mission San Xavier del Bac.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Tucson — 1.5 mi
  The Old Pueblo — four thousand years of farming under the sky islands
• Mission San Xavier del Bac — 6.9 mi
  The White Dove of the Desert — the finest Spanish Baroque church in the country
• Saguaro National Park — 22 mi
  The giant cactus, and the O'odham who count it as kin

More markers nearby

• Desert Laboratory — 1.2 mi
• Carrillo Intermediate School — 1.2 mi
• El Paso & Southwestern Depot and Park — 1.2 mi
• Carlos Ygnacio Velasco House — 1.4 mi