Are the Yaqui-Indigenous or Native-American nation part of the USA or part of Mexico ?
In 1533, the tribe had its first confrontation with the Spaniards when Diego de Guzmán and his soldiers were defeated by a united force of Yaqui warriors. More than seventy years later, in 1609, another Spanish party lost its battle with the Indians. Yet, the Yaqui were interested in Spanish material culture and proved to be eager converts to Christianity. They developed a new religion which contained both native and Christian elements. Jesuits established missions in the Yaqui country and the majority of the Indians became converts. The Jesuit presence had a profound influence on Yaqui culture and social organization. At the request of the missionaries, the Yaquis abandoned their widely dispersed encampments and settled in eight new towns which soon became part of Yaqui sacred geography: Potam, Vicam, Torim, Bacum, Cocorit, Huirivis, Belem, and Rahum.
Because of their northern location and military strength, the Yaquis were never fully subdued by the Spanish. Thus, they were largely spared the more brutal forms of Spanish exploitation such as the 'repartimiento de indios'. The Yaquis were able to pick and choose from Spanish culture for more than a century while their economy flourished. But in the eighteenth century, the colonial regime became more oppressive and the Indians were also faced with a growing influx of white settlers. In 1740 and 1742, two uprisings against the Spaniards marked the end of a long, peaceful era. Weary of European domination, the Yaquis asserted their wish to be recognized as an independent group and they continued to do so well into the twentieth century.
Mexico became an independent republic in 1821, and this event triggered nationalist inspirations among the Indians of the north. However, the attempts to create a pan-Indian federation in Sonora under the leadership of Juan Banderas were not received well by the new Mexican government. Banderas, a Yaqui, was finally defeated in 1832. The military confrontations continued, sometimes resulting in bloody massacres such as the one in Bacum. In 1868, the Mexican army set fire to a church in which hundreds of Yaquis had been locked up for the night. More than 150 prisoners were burned alive.
In 1872, Mexico became a dictatorship under Porfirio Díaz. Shortly after, a new Yaqui leader emerged who tried to unite the eight river towns by establishing a short-lived republic in the Yaqui Valley. His name was José María Leyva or Cajeme in Yaqui, 'he-who-does-not-drink'. Díaz accused the Yaquis of separatism, even though their little nation was older than the Republic of Mexico. War seemed to be inevitable and 4,000 Yaquis prepared for it by building a fortified village in the heartland of their country. The siege of this fort, El Añil, ended in a defeat for Cajeme in 1886. One year later, he was captured and executed in Guaymas. The Yaqui guerrilleros continued their resistance under a new leader, Juan Maldonado or Tetabiate ('Rolling Stone'). The Bacatete Mountains became a stronghold for the guerrilla faction, which had now become a minority. The Yaqui river towns were almost totally deserted as Yaqui dispersed throughout the rest of Sonora to become farm laborers, miners, or fishermen. The beginning of the twentieth century was marked by a clampdown on Yaquis resistance in Sonora. In January 1900, almost 1,000 Indians were killed in a massacre at Mazocoba, a rocky plateau in the Bacatete Mountains. It was a portent of even more serious developments.
Díaz encouraged foreign investments and modernization of Mexican society by urging white colonists from Europe and the U.S. to settle in the sparsely settled northern states. At the same time, a worldwide demand for products such as sugar, sisal hemp and tobacco stimulated the establishment of large haciendas in the south which came to depend on bonded or 'contract' labor. There is a clear connection between these developments and the systematic persecution of the Yaqui which began around 1903.
Because most Yaquis were not inclined to give up their fertile river lands, Díaz and his political allies wanted to remove them from Sonora. Outright extermination was considered, but finally the government opted for deportation of all Yaqui 'rebels' to the plantations of Yucatán and Oaxaca. The governor of Sonora, Rafael Izábal, organized regular manhunts throughout the state which culminated in a total war against the tribe in 1904-1909. Between 8,000 and 15,000 Yaqui prisoners of war were rounded up and sold as virtual slaves. Up to 60% of these people perished within the first year of their arrival because of the climate and inhumane working conditions. Thousands of Indians went into hiding, sometimes aided by their Sonoran employers who did not agree with Díaz's 'ethnic cleansing' policy. Others fled to Arizona and established new settlements there, especially near the cities of Tucson and Phoenix. Their cheap labor was in great demand among cotton growers and railroad companies.
With the onset of the Mexican revolution in 1911, de facto slavery in Mexico came to an end and Porfirio Díaz was forced to leave the country. Francisco Madero, the first new president, reportedly told a group of Yaqui survivors that they would receive some compensation for their losses and that their lands would be restored to them. During the course of the war, Yaquis joined the armies of all major factions. From all over the state, refugees returned to the Yaqui valley to resettle it while the encroachment by mestizos and whites continued. After the revolution, Madero's promises to the Indians were quickly forgotten. Former generals such as Alvaro Obregón established estates of their own and competed with the Yaquis for land and resources in Sonora. This led to renewed warfare against the Indians in 1916-1917.
The last military campaign, which started in 1926, was also the most destructive one. Thousands of Yaqui non-combatants fled to the Bacatete mountains and the army used bombs to ferret them out of their hiding places. In 1927, the Yaquis were finally defeated and the Mexican government established army posts in all their towns. The military occupation of the Yaqui valley would not be fully lifted until the early 1970s. The reform policy of Lázaro Cárdenas (1934-1940) brought some improvements for the Yaquis, whose ancestral lands were party turned into a reservation (zona indígena) by presidential decree. For the first time in Mexican history, the federal government agreed to the establishment of a separate territory for its native inhabitants.
However, the economic situation in the towns worsened because most Yaquis lacked the resources to farm their own land. In the early fifties, several large dams were constructed in Sonora which altered the course of the Rio Yaqui and other rivers in the vicinity. As a result, the Indians had to buy all the water they needed and this eroded their self-sufficiency even further. In the 1960s and 1970s, clashes with landless mestizo peasants took on alarming proportions as the government tried to strengthen its position in the communities.
The loss of culture has been extensive, yet the Yaqui nation still exists as a political entity in Sonora today. This is also true for Arizona. Most Yaquis who crossed the border during the turmoils of the Díaz era chose to stay there permanently. Major settlements like Pascua Village (near Tucson) and Guadalupe (near Phoenix) have sustained a steadily growing population of Indians since the early 1900s. Unemployment became a major problem in most communities after the mechanization of the cotton industry in the 1960s, and the situation is still problematic for many Yaquis. In 1978, Pascuans voted to organize under the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) and they became a federally organized tribe. Today, there are about 6,000 Yaquis living in the United States.
Answer:
Interesting, but still has fuzzy events, and facts. I love how the spin on history and the events still are that. A spin on it. They were a part of the USA.
Yaqui History
Native Americans are the true experts about Indian travels and ways of life. The Yaqui people have used oral traditions to pass their rich history from one generation to the next. This is the history of the Yaqui as told by Ernesto Quiroga Sandoval, Historian, Pascua Yaqui Tribe.
The Creator made ocean animals and allowed some to emerge onto land. Some evolved into a short human form: the Surem. These are the early ancestors of the Yaquis. The Sureni lived in a time out of mind and were a peace-loving, gentle people who had no need for government. Life in the Sonoran desert was a harmonious perfection for the Surem until God spoke through a little tree and prophesied about new horticultural techniques, Christianity, savage invaders, and disunity. The Surem became frightened about parts of this message and transformed into taller, defensive farming people called Yaquis (Hiakim) or Yo'emem (The People).
The Yaquis were well accustomed to the many parts of North America. By 552 AD, Yaquis were living in family groups along the Yaqui River (Yoem Vatwe) north to the Gila River, where they gathered wild desert foods, hunted game and cultivated corn, beans, and squash. Yaquis traded native foods, furs, shells, salt, and other goods with many indigenous groups of central North America. Among these groups are the Shoshone, the Comanche, the Pueblos, the Pimas, the Aztecs, and the Toltec. Yaquis roamed extensively in pre-Columbian times and sometimes settled among other native groups like the Zunis.
It is said, "We had been told in a revelation from Heaven, that God had given to the Yaquis a homeland around the Yaqui River." The Yaquis trained themselves to fight, withstand pain, and die if necessary to protect God-given land and family life. By 1414, the Yaquis were organized into autonomous, yet unified, cultural and military groups.
In 1533, the Yaquis saw the first white men: a Spanish military expedition searching for slaves. The Spanish who initiated warfare were soundly defeated, but took thousands of Yaqui lives. Between 1608 and 1610 the Spanish repeatedly attacked the Yaqui people. The Yaquis proved they could raise a fighting force of 7,000 within a few hours to successfully defend Yaqui land and cultural integrity.
Nevertheless, the Yaquis preferred peace. They asked the Jesuits to enter Yaqui villages to do missionary work and economic development. Most of the 60,000 Yaquis settled into eight sacred towns or "pueblos" and built churches: La Navidad del Senor de Vikam, Santa Rosa de Vahkom, La Asuncion de Nuestra Senora de Rahum, Espiritu Santo (Ko'okoim), Santa Barbara de Wiivisim, San Ignacio de Torim, San Miguel de Veenem, and La Santisima Trinidad de Potam.
Silver was discovered in the Yaqui River Valley around 1684. The Spanish, who treasured the silver stone, began moving into the area, began taking sacred Yaqui land, and treated the Yaqui people disrespectfully.
In 1740, the Yaqui allied with the neighboring Mayo tribe to force the Spanish out of the God-given Indian lands. For the next 190 years, the Yaqui people continued to fight the Spanish, and then the Mexicans (after they won their independence from Spain).
Juan Banderas was one Yaqui leader who tried to unite the Mayo, Opata, and Pima tribes with the Yaqui tribe in attempt to force the Mexicans out of Indian country. He was caught with an Opata chief in 1833 and was executed.
more here -
http://www.pascuayaqui-nsn.gov/history_a...
I think we should be asking you the questions.
Nice history lesson. But if you're trying to convince someone that the United States is comprised of less than the accepted fifty states and those accompanying borders, no dice.
There is not a country in the world that disputes America's borders.
Somewhere in your additional details you answered your question.
this is one of the best questions i have encountered here, and thank you for providing us with your research. the yaquis are actually a tribe of mexicans from the northwestern region of mexico, and not north of the rio grande. you would love reading the masterpiece book, based on actual facts of mexico, written by gary jennings called "AZTEC."
From your description, it sounds like the Yaqui have far better rights in the United States.
Based on your description, they would probably be split between the USA and Mexico. A similar situation exists between a few tribes along the USA/Canada border.
it is obvious that they didn't cross any borders.
it was the border that crossed them!!
ok...
Excellent article!
I just want to say again: Anglo-Mexico and Hispanic-Mexico can't be divided with walls, fences or retrograde foreign policies. Impeach Bush! and Bring Democracy back to America!
Nice cut and paste, but you forgot to post the source. That's ok. I'll do it for you
http://www.lasculturas.com/aa/vs_edithya...
A very nice and thorough couple of history lessons. Thanks.
For any who would like a lyrical, beautifully written and entertaining story set in Sonora in the early 20th century, I highly recommend The Hummingbird's Daughter, a novel by Luis Alberto Urrea. He's a Chicano who grew up in the Chicago area, but listening to stories of his great-great (great?) aunt, the Saint of Caborca. The novel is a delight on every level. Read it.
Donna
Learn about Mexico's most beautiful colonial city at www.experiencesanmiguel.com
Nice history lesson. Doesn't change a darn thing about 2007 however.
You are either a US citizen or you are not.
You are either in this country legally or you are not.
and if you are an illegal alien.you are NOT welcome here.
More chips and salsa, por favor.
" They didn't cross the border, the border crossed them! So.. they deserve Dual-Citizenship NOW!!
The Immigration information post by website user , MyTend.com not guarantee correctness.
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