PHOTO ESSAY: Tohono O’odham families carry on sacred saguaro fruit harvest in Arizona borderlands
Tanisha Tucker Lohse, right, and Maria Francisco, both of the Tohono Oʼodham nation, harvest fruit from a saguaro cactus in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Saguaro cactus fruit grow at the end of an arm during a harvest day for the Tohono Oʼodham people in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Saguaro cactus fruit grow at the end of an arm during a harvest day for the Tohono Oʼodham people in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Tanisha Tucker Lohse, left, and Maria Francisco, both of the Tohono Oʼodham nation, harvest fruit from a saguaro cactus in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Tanisha Tucker Lohse, left, and Maria Francisco, both of the Tohono Oʼodham nation, harvest fruit from a saguaro cactus in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Clayborne Thomas, of the Tohono Oʼodham nation, catches a fruit harvested from a saguaro cactus in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Clayborne Thomas, of the Tohono Oʼodham nation, catches a fruit harvested from a saguaro cactus in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Tanisha Tucker Lohse, of the Tohono Oʼodham nation, opens the ripe fruit from a saguaro cactus during harvest picking season in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Tanisha Tucker Lohse, of the Tohono Oʼodham nation, opens the ripe fruit from a saguaro cactus during harvest picking season in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Tanisha Tucker Lohse, of the Tohono Oʼodham nation, points to fruit on a saguaro cactus during harvest time in the Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Tanisha Tucker Lohse, of the Tohono Oʼodham nation, points to fruit on a saguaro cactus during harvest time in the Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The early sun illuminates a forest of giant saguaro cacti during fruit harvest season for the Tohono Oʼodham people in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The early sun illuminates a forest of giant saguaro cacti during fruit harvest season for the Tohono Oʼodham people in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Tanisha Tucker Lohse checks on several patties of drying saguaro cactus fruit from a harvest for the Tohono Oʼodham people in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Tanisha Tucker Lohse checks on several patties of drying saguaro cactus fruit from a harvest for the Tohono Oʼodham people in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Francine Larson Segundo, of the Tohono Oʼodham nation, removes the fresh fruit from a pod picked from a saguaro cactus during harvest season in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Francine Larson Segundo, of the Tohono Oʼodham nation, removes the fresh fruit from a pod picked from a saguaro cactus during harvest season in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Silas Garcia, right, pours fresh saguaro cactus fruit onto a strainer as Maria Francisco, left, holds the frame while a youth volunteer looks on during a harvest day by the Tohono Oʼodham people in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Silas Garcia, right, pours fresh saguaro cactus fruit onto a strainer as Maria Francisco, left, holds the frame while a youth volunteer looks on during a harvest day by the Tohono Oʼodham people in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Saguaro cactus fruit juice cools after boiling it into a syrup on a harvest day for the Tohono Oʼodham people in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Saguaro cactus fruit juice cools after boiling it into a syrup on a harvest day for the Tohono Oʼodham people in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Maria Francisco, right, and Tanisha Tucker Lohse laugh as they cook and can saguaro cactus fruit on a harvest day for the Tohono Oʼodham people in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Maria Francisco, right, and Tanisha Tucker Lohse laugh as they cook and can saguaro cactus fruit on a harvest day for the Tohono Oʼodham people in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Suella Lohse, 4, looks at the makeshift altar for those Tohono Oʼodham family members, Stella Tucker and great-grand-aunt “Grandma Juanita,” who have passed, prior to a Mass on the St. John the Baptist’s feast day in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Suella Lohse, 4, looks at the makeshift altar for those Tohono Oʼodham family members, Stella Tucker and great-grand-aunt “Grandma Juanita,” who have passed, prior to a Mass on the St. John the Baptist’s feast day in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
John Vasquez Bedoy blesses the ramada, a canopy topped with saguaro ribs to provide shade, with sage prior to a St. John the Baptist’s feast day Mass in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
John Vasquez Bedoy blesses the ramada, a canopy topped with saguaro ribs to provide shade, with sage prior to a St. John the Baptist’s feast day Mass in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The Rev. Aro Varnabas leads the St. John the Baptist’s feast day Mass in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The Rev. Aro Varnabas leads the St. John the Baptist’s feast day Mass in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The Rev. Aro Varnabas leads the St. John the Baptist’s feast day Mass in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The Rev. Aro Varnabas leads the St. John the Baptist’s feast day Mass in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
As crushed fruit from the Saguaro cactus harvest dries, The Rev. Aro Varnabas leads the St. John the Baptist’s feast day Mass in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
As crushed fruit from the Saguaro cactus harvest dries, The Rev. Aro Varnabas leads the St. John the Baptist’s feast day Mass in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Francine Larson Segundo, of the Tohono Oʼodham nation, walks through the desert looking for saguaro cactus fruit during harvest season in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Francine Larson Segundo, of the Tohono Oʼodham nation, walks through the desert looking for saguaro cactus fruit during harvest season in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The saguaro cactus is the iconic plant of the Arizona borderlands, and in June and early July, its thorn-covered small fruit ripens.
For members of the Tohono O’odham Nation, whose ancestors have lived in this hot desert for thousands of years, harvest time for the “bahidaj” is sacred.
The towering saguaros — which live 200 years and routinely reach 25 feet (7.6 meters) in height — are part of the O’odham creation story, and are considered family.
“We were all taught that they were family, they are family to us,” said Maria Francisco after harvesting near her extended family’s camp in the foothills west of Tucson. “So we have a very great respect for them. And we pray to them and we thank them.”
The saguaro fruit is boiled and strained until it becomes a naturally sweet syrup. Some of it is fermented to make wine for annual ceremonies asking the Creator to send the monsoon rains that render desert life possible — and mark the O’odham new year.
For many families, harvest time is also an opportunity to pass down the traditions and centuries-old knowledge enjoying a resurgence as more youth rediscover their ancestral ways.
“It’s just important for the generations to be out here, to see this,” said Tanisha Tucker Lohse, Francisco’s cousin.
The two women are carrying on the legacy of an ancestor, Juanita Ahil, who in the 1960s advocated for continued access to their harvesting land after it became part of Saguaro National Park. In her memory, a Mass is also celebrated at the camp on St. John the Baptist’s feast day, since many O’odham integrate Catholic and Native beliefs.
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This is a documentary photo story curated by AP photo editors.
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