The Yaqui tribe of Sonora, Mexico, comprises fierce, cunning, determined, and culturally traditional warriors. For over 400 years, they fought for their independence and land. Despite harassment, displacement, brutal battles, and slavery, they never surrendered to Spanish, Mexican, and American forced colonization.
The Yaqui
The tribe lived on the west coast of Mexico along the Yaqui River and had a population of 30,000 individuals in 80 communities across a 60-by-15-mile region. Some Yaqui lived alongside the river and used it as their primary life source, while others lived in the desert and mountains. The tribe grew maize, beans, and squash and were hunter-gatherers.
Tribal Living
The Yaqui lived in harmony with nature, building their homes with mud, reeds, and wood and hunting deer and other animals for food and pelts. Their homes were constructed using compacted mud, wooden slats for flooring, and a mixture of reeds and mud for insulation as roofing. Most homes had three rooms: a bedroom, kitchen, and living room called a “portal.”
Battling the Spanish
The Yaqui were first discovered in 1533 by Captain Diego de Guzmán on an expedition to explore the northern territories of Spanish colonies. Yaqui warriors met with the Spaniards and drew a line in the sand, indicating that it was not to be crossed. A fight broke out between the Spanish and Yaqui when they rejected the Spanish request for food. While the Spanish won and took over a small portion of Yaqui’s land, they withdrew from the conflict. This interaction began a 40-year-long struggle to save Yaqui land from the Spanish.
Forming Important Alliances
In 1565, Francisco de Ibarra tried establishing a Spanish settlement in Yaqui territory, but his efforts failed due to a lack of silver and other precious metals. At this time, the Yaqui formed an alliance with other Indigenous tribes, particularly Mayo, to defeat the Spanish. They succeeded in two confrontations with the Spanish in 1608, after which a peace treaty was signed in 1610.
The Jesuit Missionaries
The Yaqui then experienced great change when they invited a group of Jesuit Missionaries to reside with and educate them. This alliance was mutually beneficial and lasted for 120 years. During this time, the Yaqui were introduced to Christianity, which they adopted alongside their other beliefs and traditions, wheat, cattle, and horses. The Jesuits were able to expand their efforts and offered a certain amount of protection from Spanish settlers.
A Bloody Revolt
However, in the 1730s, Spanish forces began pushing the boundaries of the peace treaty, which finally resulted in a revolt among the Yaqui and Mayo tribes. This revolt turned bloody, with 1,000 Spaniards and 5,000 Native Americans killed in battle. By 1767, the Jesuits were banished from Mexico, and the missionaries that followed never gained the trust of the Yaqui. An uneasy peace ensued after the revolt.
Mexico Gains Independence
When Mexico was granted independence in 1821, the Yaqui maintained a certain level of independence from Mexican governance until 1825, when the Yaqui rejected the government’s tax request. Juan Banderas led an insurrection, trying to unite several tribes into an independent state separate from the Mexican government. This united front expelled the Mexicans from their lands, but Banderas was captured and executed. His execution prompted uprisings as the Yaqui continued to fight against Mexican governance.
A New World
In 1876, Porfirio Diaz took over the country. The Mexican government began confiscating Yaqui land, displacing thousands who had to retreat into the mountains and redistributing it. Some Yaqui joined guerilla campaigns against the government. In 1868, Mexico’s army also massacred 150 Yaqui by burning down a church. Their resistance continued under Jose Maria Leyva (Cajemé) until his execution in 1887. As the government took more and more land, the Yaqui became poor, and many tribespeople were captured and sold into slavery.
A Long Journey to San Marcos
A minimum of 5,000 Yaqui were sold to plantations in Oaxaca, Valle Nacional, and Yucatán by 1908. The captured Yaqui were made to walk up to 200 kilometers to San Macros, where a concentration camp was established and families separated before being shipped to plantations. During the three-week journey, many women and children died, and their bodies were left on the side of the road.
Surviving The Plantations
The enslaved Yaqui were subjected to brutal working conditions, severe punishment when daily targets weren’t met (2,000 henequen leaves), and inhumane living conditions. The Yaqui women were forced to marry enslaved non-indigenous Chinese men. Two-thirds of the enslaved died within the first year. But the Yaqui resistance continued.
The Yaqui’s Fight for Independence
The remaining Yaqui moved to Sonora’s urban areas, adopting other tribal traditions as a cover. Others moved to Arizona in the United States and began working to help smuggle guns and ammunition into Mexico for their comrades still fighting the Mexican government. The violence continued until the final battle between the Mexican army and Yaqui warriors in 1927 at Cerro del Gallo Mountain. Ultimately, the Mexican army won with their superior artillery and air strikes.
Finding Freedom
In 1937, General Lázaro Cárdenas facilitated the Yaqui’s return home once he was President. He returned 500,000 hectares of land along the Yaqui River, built a dam to provide irrigated water, and gave the tribe modern agricultural equipment. The Yaqui finally gained independence from the Mexican government. In 1936, a consensus revealed that the Yaqui population was at 10,000 (3,000 of which were children under five), and by 1939, the Yaqui managed to harvest 3,500 tons of wheat, 750 tons of beans, and 500 tons of maize.
Sources
History of the Yaqui tribe, native american people
Yaqui
Yaqui Indian Tribe: Facts, History and Culture
