Writing in El Economista on July 8, 2024, Ricardo Quiroga recently asked the question (translated into English): “What are the challenges, plans and commitments acquired by the incoming federal administration in Mexico, headed by the President-Elect Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, regarding indigenous languages?”[1] Quiroga noted that the new Mexican Government headed by the climate scientist and former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum would serve “a self-identified indigenous population of 25.7 million people” [According to the INEGI 2020 Population and Housing Census]. This population represents 21.5% of the total population in the country.

For hundreds of years, the lowlands of northeastern Mexico and southern Texas were occupied by hundreds of small, autonomous Indian groups that lived by hunting and gathering. We call these Indians Coahuiltecans to denote the broader geographic range they shared. They spoke many languages, some of which were not believed to be related. As such, Coahuiltecan is not an ethnic classification.

Coahuila de Zaragoza – the third largest state of Mexico – was inhabited by six nomadic indigenous groups when the Spaniards arrived in the late Sixteenth Century: The Tobosos, Irritilas, Coahuiltecans, Rayados, Chisos and Guachichiles. The Coahuiltecans occupied a considerable part of what is now eastern Coahuila, but also occupied a large portion of northeastern Mexico and southern Texas. They were made up of hundreds of small autonomous bands of hunter-gatherers.

This presentation discusses the native groups that occupied the regions adjacent to and on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border over the last three centuries. While some of these tribes are well-known to us today (i.e., the Yaquis, Tohono O'odham, Kumeyaay, etc.), tribal groups that have nearly disappeared as distinguishable cultural entities (i.e., Carrizos, Mansos, Jocome, Coahuiltecans, etc.) will also be discussed. In addition to the history of those tribes, we will explore the current status of some of the tribal communities that still exist today.

In the aftermath of the Mexican revolution, Mexico’s Departamento de la Estadística Nacional administered a census that would be unique among Mexico’s census counts administered between 1895 and 2005. In this new census, the Mexican Government decided to ask Mexicans about their perception of their own racial heritage. In the 1921 census, residents of the Mexican Republic were asked if they fell into one of the following categories:

Porfirio Díaz (1830-1913) ̶a native of Oaxaca came to power in 1876 and essentially ruled the country until 1911. He was responsible for economic growth, industrialization and enhanced foreign investment, but had little regard for human rights. Diaz’s rule was both harsh and arbitrary. Much of Mexico’s economic system during his rule revolved around the hacienda system.

This presentation discusses the native groups that occupied the regions adjacent to and on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border over the last three centuries. While some of these tribes are well-known to us today (i.e., the Yaquis, Tohono O'odham, Kumeyaay, Cocopah, etc.), tribal groups that have disappeared as distinguishable cultural entities (i.e., Carrizos, Mansos, Jocome, Coahuiltecans, etc.) will also be discussed. In addition to the history of those tribes, we will explore the current status of the tribal communities that still exist today.

The state of Coahuila is located in the northern reaches of the Mexican Republic. Bordered by the United States (Texas) on its northern border, Coahuila also touches the state of Chihuahua on its west, Durango on the southwest, Zacatecas and San Luis Potosí on the south, and Nuevo León on the east. As the third largest Mexican state, Coahuila is made up of 151,595 square kilometers, which is equal to 7.7% of the national territory.