The Yaqui Indians are a tribe of Native Americans originating from the northern state of Sonora, in Mexico. More specifically, the Rio Yaqui valley, where they have the original eight traditional villages. They are also located in the Southeastern part of Arizona, mainly in and around Tucson, where their reservation is located. There is Yaqui people living in other parts of the United States as well, mainly in the Southwestern states such as California and Nevada. The reason for Yaqui Indians migrating to the U.S. is because of the wars between the Yaqui and New Spain, and then later on with the Mexican republic. This period of war began in 1533 and lasted almost 400 years. The main reason for the war was for rights to the land and marine that the Yaqui had. …show more content…
Then after the war with New Spain was over, the Mexican government attempted to control the Yaqui land. While the war against the Mexican republic was going on, thousands of Yaqui were sent to different parts of Mexico to be sold as slave. As a result of this, many refugees fled to the United States and landed in Phoenix, Arizona, where they would establish themselves. The Yaqui’s living in Arizona are called The Pascua Yaqui Tribe. The Yaqui name was given to them by the Jesuits, who brought Christianity to them. Previous to being called the Yaqui, they called themselves Yoeme, meaning “people”. Yaqui tribe members speak a Cahitan language, which is part of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Currently, it is believed that 1,000 Yaqui language speakers live in the United States (mainly Arizona) and 15,000 Yaqui speakers live in Sonora, Mexico. The current Yaqui population is about 30,000 in Sonora and an estimated 11,000 Pascua Yaqui