The nature of the so-called Chichimecas has varied in time and place. Originally the Spaniards and their Indigenous allies referred to the semi-nomadic people who inhabited the frontier area of Nueva Galicia as Chichimecas. They waged a 40-year-war against them. But two hundred years later, the Spaniards also used the term for the nomadic Coahuiltecan tribes of the northeast.

Tracing an indigenous family across the generations is challenging, but it is definitely possible when the records you are exploring are indexed. In order to provide your links to the past, you want to find as many direct bloodline ancestors as possible, but it is good to also find the records of collateral ancestors [siblings of your ancestors]. Sometimes, the records of siblings can be useful in assembling your lineage. The baptism of the sibling may be more readable and more detailed than the baptism of your direct ancestor.

Learn to trace your indigenous roots in northeastern Mexico and south Texas. Historian, genealogist, and author John P. Schmal will discuss the various tribal groups inhabiting this region; research techniques for finding your ancestors in this area; and helpful websites.

From 1895 to 2015, the Mexican census has painted a picture of Mexico’s people, providing details about languages spoken (Spanish, foreign and indigenous), religion, education, literacy, employment and migration. From the beginning, the Mexican census provided details about indigenous languages spoken by its citizens. However, in the first half century, it is possible that there were undercounts of indigenous language speakers because some may have failed to declare their language status for fear of affecting their position within the community. In addition, poor communications channels with rural, isolated indigenous communities may also have caused an undercount of the indigenous people.

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:

The most important FamilySearch.org link is the following one, which leads you to 66 Mexican collections, primarily Catholic Church records (going back, in some cases, to the 1500s and 1600s) and Civil Registry records (for municipio records).

If your ancestors are from Zacatecas, Guanajuato, Aguascalientes, Jalisco or San Luis Potosí, it is likely that you are descended from the indigenous peoples who inhabited these areas before the Spaniards arrived from the south. The historian Eric Van Young of the University of California at San Diego has called this area, the “the Center-West Region” of Mexico. This cultural region, according to Dr. Van Young, amounts to about one-tenth of Mexico’s present-day national territory.

Among all the indigenous people of Mexico, understanding the Indians of Northeastern Mexico is very challenging, as nearly all of these tribal groups have disappeared as “distinguishable cultural entities.” The largest ethnic group ̶ the Coahuiltecans ̶ ranged through much of the northeast, including parts of Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas and southern Texas. Today they do not exist.

The land-locked state of San Luis Potosí (SLP) is located in center- north Mexico. With a surface area of 61,137 square kilometers (representing 3.1% of the total area of the Mexican Republic), San Luis Potosí touches nine other Mexican states.

The land-locked state of San Luis Potosí (SLP) is located in center-north Mexico. With a surface area of 61,138 square kilometers (representing 3.1% of the total area of the Mexican Republic), San Luis Potosí is politically divided into 58 municipios and touches nine other Mexican states. The state is adjacent to Coahuila on the north, Nuevo León on the northeast, and Tamaulipas on the northeast. Additionally, San Luis Potosí has a common border with Veracruz Llave (on the east), Guanajuato, Querétaro and Hidalgo on the south, Jalisco on the southwest, and Zacatecas to the west.