The Yavapai-Apache Nation is located in the Verde Valley of Arizona and is comprised of five (5) tribal communities: Tunlii, Middle Verde, Rimrock, Camp Verde and Clarkdale. With 2,596 total enrolled tribal members (April 2019 numbers) with over 750 residents living in the five (5) tribal communities. The Yavapai-Apache Nation consists of two distinct people, the Yavapai and Apache. The Yavapai refers to themselves as Wipuhk’a’bah and speak the Yuman language, while the Apache refer to themselves as Dil’zhe’e and speak the Athabaskan language.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Facing widespread poverty, the Yavapai-Apache Nation opened Cliff Castle Casino in 1995, generating critical revenue that enabled the tribal government to expand and improve services for its members.

Today, services the Yavapai-Apache Nation provides for community members includes; Medical, Social Services, Judicial, Tribal Court, Youth Services, Education and Housing. 
 
Through gaming endeavors, the Council is focusing on social services, education, and has developed economic bases through Yavapai-Apache Sand and Rock, Distant Drums RV Park, Chevron Gas convenience Store, Market Place convenience store at Tunlii,Community Development and Cliff Castle Casino.

Yavapai-Apache Nation provides employment and other economic benefits to the surrounding communities and has supported many organizations, including Boys & Girls Club, Toys for Tots, local schools, American Red Cross, the United Way, local youth programs, schools, scholarship funds, and the local library and many more.

EXODUS DAY – February 28, 2026

Exodus Day is a commemorative yearly event for the Yavapai–Apache Nation to honor our shared history, remember the journey of our ancestors back home to Camp Verde, and come together as a community in strength and unity.

The event includes a morning ceremony, the Exodus Run, and a community gathering with food, vendors, and performances. This page will share updates, schedules, and information as we move closer to the 2026 event.

LAND EXCHANGE

The Yavapai-Apache Nation Federal Land Exchange involves the proposed exchange of about 4,782 acres of largely unspoiled National Forest inholdings owned by the Yavapai-Apache Nation to the United States Forest Service. The Nation’s exchange lands include six parcels located in four National Forests – Prescott, Coconino, Kaibab, and Apache Sitgreaves – all of which are totally, or in two cases mostly, surrounded by National Forest lands. In exchange, the Nation would receive about 3,201 acres of federal land, most of which is urban interface land and nearly all of which is contiguous to the Nation’s existing Reservation lands near Camp Verde, Arizona. Over time with the growth of local communities, including the Nation, these federal lands have lost much of their character as wildland forests. Two of the smaller parcels are isolated from the main body of National Forest lands, making Forest Service management difficult. While both the urban interface and the isolated parcels present challenging management issues for the Forest Service, the proposed exchange lessens those challenges and provides for better management of Federal lands.

The Forest Service has tentatively determined that the proposed exchange will serve the public interest and that it is in the interests of the United States and the Yavapai-Apache Nation.
Click here to read “A Brief History of the Yavapai-Apache Nation and its Lands.”

Camp Verde, AZ 86322