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The Pascua Yaqui Tribe, originally from the Yaqui River Valley in Mexico, now resides in Arizona. They merged their traditions with Christianity, including the celebration of Easter and the Deer Dance. They were at war with Mexico until a peace treaty was signed in 1897, and many were driven out to Arizona. The tribe was formally recognized as a created tribe in 1978 and as a historic tribe in 1994.
Now located in the United States, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe is a group of Native Americans who claim tribal lands just southwest of Tucson, Arizona. In the Yaqui language, Yoeme means “the people”. Many members of the tribe call themselves such.
The Yaquis, ancestors of today’s Pascua Yaqui tribe, lived in the Yaqui River Valley in Mexico. In 1530, the first Spanish explorers encountered the tribe and began negotiations with Spain. A formal peace treaty between the Spanish government and the Yaqui nation was signed in 1610. Soon after, the first Catholic missionaries were established.
During the 1700s, the Yaquis began to blend many of their traditions with Christian teachings. The celebration of Pascua, the Spanish word for Easter, became an intricate part of the tribe’s culture. The Deer Dance, traditionally used by the Yaquis to encourage deer to sacrifice themselves for the good of the tribe, merged in meaning with Christ’s sacrifice for the good of mankind.
While the Yaquis accepted the religion of the Spanish settlers, they were much more reluctant to put up with their rule. By the mid-1700s, the tribe had begun to resent the increasing incursions of the Spanish into their lands. Collaborating with neighboring tribes, the Yaqui nation turned against the Mexican government.
Hostilities between the factions varied in intensity over the next century, but never completely subsided. The Yaquis were essentially at war with Mexico until a formal peace treaty was signed in 1897. By then, many of the Yaquis had been driven out to neighboring Arizona.
Over the next two decades, the number of Yaquis moving to the United States continued to increase. Despite the peace treaty, the Mexican government continued to forcibly expel tribal members from its borders. In addition, many Yaquis have voluntarily come to the country to reunite with their families and escape persecution. Many settled in a settlement they called Pascua.
Although the people still faced adversity, the fledgling Pascua Yaqui tribe began to thrive. The long struggle for reorganization began. Their first win came in 1964 with a bid for lands under the non-profit state. At the time, the US government was not yet willing to formally recognize the official status of the tribe. However, the tribe, which operated under the guise of the Pascua Yaqui Association, was granted 202 acres of land outside Tucson, Arizona.
In 1978, the Pascua Yaqui tribe was formally recognized as a created tribe. Though the distinction was imperfect, it provided important protections and rights to the tribe. Those rights were further strengthened by the United States’ formal recognition of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe as a historic tribe in 1994.
