Pascua Yaqui Tribe
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The Pascua Yaqui Tribe is a tribe of Native Americans, given recognition by the United States government on September 18, 1978. Most U.S. members of the tribe live in southern Arizona.The Yaquis were well accustomed to the many parts of North America, escended from the ancient Uto-Azteca people of Mexico, the ancestors of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe first settled in the United States near Nogales and south Tucson. In the late 1800s the Tribe began to expand into settlements north of Tucson in an area they named Pascua Village, and in Guadalupe, near Tempe.
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[edit] History
In 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.
[edit] European interaction
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. The Jesuits entered 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 began moving into the area, taking 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 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.
Many Yaquis left the Rio Yaqui area to fight in the Vakatetteve Mountains; others relocated to Yaqui communities in Arizona. Many more died in battles or were executed. In 1868, 600 Yaqui men, women, and children were captured near Vahkom Pueblo by Mexican state and federal troops. Their arms (bows and arrows and rifles) were taken, and 450 were locked in a church. During the night, the church was shelled. 120 of the people inside were massacred. But still, the Yaquis continued to believe in and fight for the right to land, autonomy, and freedom from harassment.
The Mexican government tried various tactics to defeat the Yaquis. Many were killed. Mexican troops would occupy Yaqui pueblos to keep watch over them. Yaquis were also deported to work as slaves in many distant areas of Mexico, as Yucatan, Oaxaca, Vera Cruz, Mexico City, and Guadalajara. The deportation of Yaquis extended past the borders of Mexico to include Bolivia, the islands of the Caribbean, and the United States. The Yaquis continued to resist subjugation. By 1887, the Mayo tribe had stopped fighting. Smallpox disease had killed off many members of the Yaqui tribe so that only 4,000 Yaquis remained in the Rio Yaqui area. There were yet Yaqui who continued to battle the Mexicans. These were led by Cajeme, meaning "He Who Does Not Drink", and Juan Maldonado, who was also called Tetabiakte, "Rolling Stone". The Yaquis in Arizona sent guns and supplies to help the battle.
Significant Yaqui relocation occurred from the United States to Sonora and from Sonora to the United States during the 1880s. In 1897, a peace treaty was signed at Ortiz, Sonora between the Yaqui people and the Mexican government. But, after two years, war and deportation of Yaquis continued. Then around the turn of the century, these families, encouraged by farmers, politicians, and internal preferences, began moving into larger communities. Guadalupe took early form in 1880. Old Pascua Village was established in 1903. The Sonoran Governor Izabal had a policy to arrest and deport both peaceful and rebel Yaquis. This forced Yaquis to relocate to the Arizona communities and to join old family groups already in residence. Many Yaqui families moved to escape the violence of the 1910-1920 Mexican Revolution.
In 1916, Mexico had a constitutional governor named Adolpho de la Huerta, who was one-quarter Yaqui. He made the first attempts to restore Yaqui land and stop the bloodshed. But, the next president, Alvaro Obregon, changed the policy, and the Yaqui-Mexican wars continued. The last Indian battle with the U.S. Cavalry happened on January 8, 1918, at Arivaca. Troop E of the Tenth Cavalry, intercepted a group of American Yaquis on their way to render aid to Yaquis of Sonora, who were in the midst of unrelenting war. By 1920, approximately 2,000 Yaquis lived in the U.S. The Yaquis fought their last major battle at Cerro del Gallo (Hill of the Rooster) in 1927. They were defeated and Mexican garrisons were established in all Yaqui pueblos and villages. Then in 1939, Mexican President Cardenas changed his attitude about the Yaquis. He granted the Yaqui tribe official recognition and title to their land.The autonomous Arizona villages became larger, and by 1952, were surrounded by urban communities.
[edit] Present
In 1964, Congressman Morris K. Udall introduced a bill in Congress for the transfer to the Tribe of 202 acres southwest of Tucson. The bill was approved in August 1964 and the Pascua Yaqui Association, a nonprofit Arizona corporation, was formed to receive the deed for the land from the federal government. On September 18, 1978, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona became federally recognized: the Pascua Yaqui were not formally recognized by the federal government until 1978, when they achieved status as a created tribe, a designation that was finally converted to that of a historical tribe in 1994. In 1982, the Tribe acquired an additional 590 acres of land added to the reservation, and in 1988 the Tribe's first constitution was approved. The Pascua Yaqui Indian Reservation is located in Pima County, in the southwestern part of the Tucson metropolitan area, amidst the suburban communities of Drexel Heights and Valencia West, and adjacent to the eastern section of the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation, known as the San Xavier Indian Reservation. It has a land area of 4.832 km² (1.8657 sq mi, or 1,194 acres), and a 2000 census resident population of 3,315 persons, over 90 percent of whom are Native Americans. The community is governed by a chairman, a vice chairman and nine tribal council members. Police protection is provided by the Tribal Police Department, and fire protection is provided by six full-time firefighters and four reserves.
[edit] Religion
Though now based in Christian teachings, dominantly Catholicism, the culture of the Pascua Yaqui has remained rich in native Indian elements. The Tribe has accepted political integration into American society, but has retained their former religious and cultural way of life.
The Yaqui people have used oral traditions to pass their 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)"
[edit] Economy
The Tribal government is the largest employer on the reservation. In addition to a smoke shop and artisan shop, the Tribe operates the Casino of the Sun gaming facility, which includes slot machines, bingo, restaurants, games and employs more than 600 staff. Casino Del Sol, the Tribe's second gaming property, opened October 2001 and has provided an additional 550+ jobs on the reservation and in the Tucson Community. When the expansion of Casino Del Sol opens, an additional 700 jobs will be provided to the community.
[edit] Government
A tribal council is made up of eleven elected officials, dedicated to the well being and advancement of their tribe as a whole.
The Pascua Yaquis have a status similar to other Indian tribes of the United States. This status makes the Yaqui eligible for specific services due to trust responsibility that the United States offers Native American peoples who have suffered land loss.
A U.S. government assisted news letter, Yaqui Times, also helps in keeping the people of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe informed.
[edit] References
- Pascua Yaqui Reservation, Arizona United States Census Bureau
