You asked who were their enemies. Well I know a little
bit about one tribe from that area. The Mohave tribe.
These people were unsurpased in military might, the women did all
of the work and hunting so that the men could train for war.
They were so tough that they ran out of groups to fight, that is
until the spannish showed up. When the Mohave tribe first saw the spannish, they saw a worthy opponent, being on horses and
in armor. So the Mohave waged war on the spannish, kicked their
butts so badly that the spannish would go hundreds of miles
out of their way to avoid the Mohave.