Juan Dolores

Juan Dolores (June 24, 1884 – July 19, 1948), was a Tohono O'odham Native American of the Koló:di dialect, acting as one of the first linguists of the O'odham language. He is the first person to document traditional Tohono O'odham fables and myths, and worked with Alfred L. Kroeber to document the first studies into the O'odham language's grammar, which would eventually be compiled and published alongside other documents in The Language of the Papago of Arizona by John Alden Mason.

In addition to his contributions to research into O'odham grammar, he worked on his own notes for the University of California. Early in his childhood, his father José Dolores moved the family to what was then called the Papago Reservation near Tucson, Arizona, so that he could be sent to a government school. His mother's name is unknown. Dolores was exposed to the Koló:di dialect of the O'odham language through family, the Spanish language through his mother, and English in school.

After finishing college, Dolores moved back west, working as a construction worker across the Western United States. He also aided in John A. Mason's work The Language of the Papago of Arizona.

The O'odham language, while a priority, was not the only area of culture he examined in his documents. Dolores worked in retranscription of earlier fables written by "Kurath". These fables included retellings of the Creation myth, the Ho'ok Story, and the children's story The Coyote and the Skunk. Aside from these, he also transcribed several oral stories directly, those being variations of the Creation myth, a variety of traditional songs, speeches, and autobiographies, including his own. Information on any of these seem to be scarce today.