The ethnic groups of Baja California are the cucapá, kiliwa, pa ipai, kumiai, cochimí and triquis. The triquis migrated from Oaxaca, however, Baja California is the second state where the most important settlements of this indigenous population are found.
For their part, the first five (ie the cucapá, kiliwa, pa ipai, kumiai and cochimí) are distinguished from the ethnolinguistic family yumana.
The Yumans are sedentary and inhabit fifteen settlements, scattered in Tecate, Rosarito, Ensenada and Mexicali. For example, the Paipai, Kiliwas and Cochimí coexist in Ensenada.
Indigenous groups from Baja California, Mexico
Before the arrival of the missionaries, the population of yumanos was estimated at 10,000 Indians, although that number decreased to 1,000 individuals.
Regarding the Triquis, according to data from 2000 in the Nueva San Juan Copala community in Baja California, there were about 1,500 people, and 1,929 of the triquis were statewide.
Triquis
Although the Triquis originate in Oaxaca, the economy, political problems and social violence have pushed this group to emigrate.
In addition, they are the third ethnic group with more presence in several states of the country, mainly in the north of Mexico like Sinaloa, Baja California Norte and South, Sonora, among others.
Yumanos
Before the colony, the Yuman depended on harvesting, hunting, and fishing. That is why they developed a great knowledge about their environment, as well as an efficient technology and strategies to access the resources that allowed them to survive.
One of the characteristics that distinguishes them is that they were the only group, of prehistoric origin, that had contact with the colonizers - whether Mexican, European or American - and have survived to this day.
After colonization the yuman families began to identify with surnames of Hispanic, Anglo-European, American and Mexican ancestry.
As of 2011, there were a total of 1963 yumans in the state.
Cucapá
The cucapá settled in the margins of the Colorado River. For this reason the other groups identify them as"rieños".
At present most of the cucapá live in the community of El Mayor and a small part in the ejido Cucapá Mestizo, both in Mexicali.
Kiliwa
The Kiliwa and the Paipai were established in the vicinity of the Sierras de Juárez and of San Pedro Mártir, therefore, they are known as"serreños".
For now, the only permanent settlement of this group is the Ejido Kiliwas, also known as Arroyo de León. TO
some indigenous Kiliwas live in the Valley of the Trinity, Ensenada and Santa Catarina.
Pa ipai
This community has a very small population. Their main source of income is wage labor, which they play in the nearby ranches where they live.
They live in the municipalities of Tecate and Ensenada and it is estimated that there are about four hundred people in this group.
Kumiai
They live in the Juntas de Nejí, San José de la Zorra, San José de Tecate, Peña Blanca, among others. The climate of the Kumiai territory is dry and temperate, ie, Mediterranean type.
Also, they are the yumano group with more members, 585. Of these, 264 speak the language of the tribe.
Cuchimí
They have their territory in Mission Santa Gertrudis, in the Ejido Independencia, the Huerta and Canyon of the Encinos, among others.
Although the group had been considered as disappeared, in the 1990s, some descendants of the Cochinos asked to be recognized before the National Indian Institute of Mexico.
References
- National Commission for the Development of the Indigenous Peoples of Mexico (April 2017),"Triquis", Indigenous Peoples of Contemporary Mexico. www.cdi.gob.mx/
- University of California, Berkeley (2004). "Communicative Practices on Territoriality and Identity among Triqui Indians of Oaxaca, Mexico", LONGACRE, Robert E. and Rene MILLÓN.
- CDI (2010), System of indicators on the indigenous population of Mexico, based on: inegi. Census of Population and Housing, Mexico.
- Angelito Editor (2008),"Kumiais. Homage to Gloria Castañeda Silva, singer kumiai"
- CDI (2015),"Yumanos", Everardo Garduño