Baja Indigenous History Final

Indigenous Baja California: The Rarest of the Rare
By John P. Schmal
The Baja California Peninsula is located in the northwestern portion of the Mexican
Republic. This body of land extends approximately 775 miles (1,250 kilometers) from
Tijuana in the north to Cabo San Lucas in the south and is separated from the rest of
Mexico by the Gulf of California (also called the sea of Cortés).
Nearly Extinct Languages
In 2010, 703 individuals in the Baja Peninsula spoke four nearly extinct indigenous
languages. They represent the rarest of the rare among the once thriving indigenous
populations of the former Spanish colony. According to the Ethnologue website, of the
282 living indigenous languages in Mexico today, 90 are in danger, and 33 are dying
languages.
Baja California
Occupying the northern half of the peninsula, the state of Baja California shares its
northern boundary with two American states, California and Arizona, and is also
bordered on its northeast by the Mexican state of Sonora. On its western flank, the
state also shares a long coastline with the Pacific Ocean.
Baja California occupies a total area of 71,450 square kilometers (27,587 square
miles), which makes up 3.6% of Mexico’s national territory. Baja California is the 12 th
largest state in the Mexican Republic. Politically, the State is divided into a total of
five municipios: Ensenada, Mexicali, Tecate, Tijuana and Playas de Rosarito.
In 2010, the State of Baja California had 3,315,766 inhabitants, representing 2.8% of
the total population of the Mexican Republic. The capital of the State is Mexicali,
which had a population of 689,775 in 2010, representing 20.8% of the state’s total
population. Mexicali is the 19 th largest city in Mexico by population.
Baja California Sur
On Baja California’s southern border is another Mexican state, Baja California Sur,
which occupies a total area of 73,909 square kilometers (28,536 square miles), taking
up 3.8% of the national territory. In area, Baja California Sur is ranked as the ninth
largest state in Mexico. Politically, the state is divided into five large municipios:
Comondú (Ciudad Constitución), Mulegé (Santa Rosalía), La Paz, Los Cabos (San José
del Cabo), and Loreto. The capital of Baja California is La Paz.
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In 2010, Baja California Sur had 712,029 inhabitants, which represented 0.6% of the
total Mexican population. Only one state ‒ Colima ‒ has a smaller population. In 2010,
the capital city of La Paz had a population of 215,178, which represented over 30% of
its total state population.
The Sad Legacy of the Baja Indians
The story of the indigenous peoples of the Baja Peninsula is a sad one. Living in an
arid environment, their susceptibility to the ravages of war and disease was
accentuated by their already marginal existence. The vast majority of the Baja
Indians have disappeared and those that have survived in the north are represented
by as few as a dozen individuals or as many as a few hundred. Ironically, most of the
Mexican indigenous languages spoken in the two Bajas are actually tongues brought to
the Peninsula by migrant workers from other states, in particular Oaxaca.
Early Contacts between Spaniards and Indigenous Inhabitants
In 1532 – a decade after the destruction of the Aztec Empire – the Spanish conqueror
Hernán Cortés sent an expedition commanded by his cousin, Diego Hurtado de
Mendoza, to explore the Baja California Peninsula and other locations along the
Pacific coastline of northwest México. A second expedition to the area left Santiago,
Colima, on October 29, 1533. The voyage was a disastrous failure, but mutineers from
this expedition explored the area now called La Paz.
In April 1535, Cortés himself led a third expedition of three ships that landed near
present-day La Paz on May 3, 1535, where he formally took possession of the land for
the King of Spain. Cortés founded a small colony in the area, but the local Indians
remained very hostile towards the visitors. By November 1535, more than 70 of
Cortés’ men had died from starvation or skirmishes with the indigenous population.
Early in 1536, Cortés posted 30 Spaniards to man the small colony and sailed back for
Mexico. A fourth expedition led by Francisco de Ulloa in June 1539 found that the
small colony had been destroyed. Other expeditions followed, but they frequently
encountered large groups of natives who strongly resisted their intrusions. For this
reason, the colonization and settlement of the Baja Peninsula was a very slow
process, complicated by the hostility of the indigenous groups and the great distance
from sources of supply, as well as by inhospitable weather conditions.
Indigenous Groups at Contact
At the time of contact, Baja California Norte was primarily inhabited by several
indigenous groups belonging to the Yuman language branch of the Hokan linguistic
family. Most of these early inhabitants lived by hunting and fishing, but some of them
also gathered acorns, seeds, prickly pears, apples, pine nuts and other small edible
plants found in the harsh desert environment.
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The northernmost aboriginal Baja Californians spoke several closely-related Yuman
languages, most notably the Kiliwa, Paipai, Kumeyaay (Kumiai), and Cocopá (Cucapá)
tongues. Using the controversial technique of glottochronology, it has been estimated
that the initial separation of the Yuman family into different languages occurred
perhaps 2,500 years ago. The Cocopá and Kumiai languages are believed to be very
closely related to each other, separated by perhaps about one thousand years of
independent development. The historical location of the indigenous Baja tribal groups
at the time of the Spanish contact can be seen at the following Wikipedia link:
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochimí
Paipai
The Paipai Indians – also known as Akwa'ala – occupied the northern Sierras in the
interior of the northern Baja California Peninsula. Their original territory included
the lower Colorado River Valley in the present day municipios of Ensenada and
Mexicali, as well as adjacent areas in western Arizona, southern California, and
northwestern Sonora.
Kumeyaay (Kumiai)
The Kumiai (Kumeyaay) Indians were hunters, gatherers and fishers who inhabited
coastal, inland valley, and mountain regions along the present-day Baja California
border region with the United States. The traditional Kumeyaay territory originally
extended from around Escondido in California to the northern part of the present day
municipio of Ensenada. Occupying the southern section of present-day San Diego
County in California, the Kumeyaay inhabited the region near the San Diego Presidio
when it was founded in 1769. The Kumeyaay in the vicinity of San Diego were also
referred to as the Diegueño by the Spaniards.
Cochimí
The Cochimí Indians inhabited a considerable part of the central Baja Peninsula, from
north of Rosario to the vicinity of Loreto in east central Baja California. Like many of
the other Baja tribes, the Cochimí Indians survived by fishing in the coastal areas and
gathering fruits and seeds for sustenance in other areas.
Cucapás (Cocopá)
The Cucapás, living in the desert region along the Colorado River in the frontier zone
of Baja California Norte and Sonora, fished and hunted deer, rabbit, moles, mountain
lion and coyote. They also collected a wide variety of desert products, including
cactus flowers, potatoes, and wild wheat.
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Kiliwa
The Kiliwa Indians were hunters who inhabited northeastern Baja California. The
Kiliwa lived along the eastern slope of the Sierra San Pedro Mártir and ranged down
the Gulf Coast. Their habitat also extended into the Colorado Desert.
Guaycura (Guaicura or Waicuri)
The Guaycuras lived in the middle part of the lower Baja peninsula, inhabiting the
Magdalena Plains from Loreto down to and including the La Paz area.
Pericú
The Pericú occupied the southern tip of the peninsula around San José del Cabo and
several large Gulf islands, including Cerralvo, Espíritu Santo, San José, and Santa
Catalina.
The Colonization of Baja California Sur
In 1596, King Felipe II of Spain ordered the colonization of the Baja California
Peninsula. Six years later, Sebastián Vizcaíno made his famous voyage to Baja,
exploring the present-day site of Cabo San Lucas, where he was confronted by a force
of 800 native warriors. Vizcaíno managed to build a fort at La Paz, but after a
skirmish with local natives, the post had to be abandoned by the Spaniards.
In 1683, Admiral Isidro Atondo y Antillón led a state-sponsored expedition to Baja and
established a settlement at La Paz. However, according to Mr. Laylander, the
settlement “was abandoned after a few months because of escalating conflicts with
the native inhabitants.” Another post was established at San Bruno, north of Loreto,
but was also abandoned in 1685 “because of meager local resources and uncertain
outside supplies.”
The Jesuit Missionaries
In October 1697, Jesuit missionaries started arriving in the southern Baja peninsula
with the intention of establishing missions. On October 19, 1697, Father Juan María de
Salvatierra established the first permanent mission in Baja California Sur, dedicating
it with the name of Our Lady of Loreto de Concho, near present-day Loreto, Baja
California Sur. Between 1697 and 1767, Jesuit missionaries would establish sixteen
missions throughout the length of the Baja Peninsula.
The Jesuit missions played an integral role in the Christianizing of the indigenous
peoples. However, to accomplish their objectives, the missionaries resettled and
congregated many of their converts in rancherías that were located close to the
missions. Although this practice was effective in enforcing religious instruction,
tribute collection, and the organization of a work force, the concentration of the
natives had a devastating effect on the aboriginal groups and made them more
susceptible to smallpox, typhus, measles and other infectious diseases.
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Don Laylander, in “The Linguistic Prehistory of Baja California,” has written that “the
linguistic map of Baja California underwent dramatic changes during the historic
period, culminating in the extinction of many of its aboriginal languages. Before
extinction, prehistoric lifeways were altered in a myriad of ways, through such factors
as externally-introduced epidemic diseases, military conflicts, and the relocation of
populations to mission settlements.” The most serious epidemic was the typhus
epidemic of 1742-1744, which probably killed 8,000 Indians. During the following
decades, entire tribes disappeared, while small bands of Pericú, Guaycura, and
Cochimí – struggled to survive in the south.
The Revolts of 1734-1744
The most serious rebellion in the southern part of the Baja Peninsula took place in
1734-1737. This uprising of the Pericú and Guaycuras engulfed several missions in the
southern part of the peninsula, most of which had to be abandoned. In January 1735,
indigenous forces ambushed the Manila Galleon that had stopped at San José del Cabo
for supplies. “The revolt and its subsequent suppression,” according to Don Laylander,
“hastened the disorganization and declines of the southern aboriginal groups. To
suppress the revolt, the Jesuits were forced to call in outside military assistance.” In
1742, King Felipe V authorized the use of royal funds to suppress the revolt. The
arrival of a military force from Sinaloa helped to restore order and reestablish control
of the southern Baja lands. The last scattered resistance to the Spaniards did not end
until 1744.
The Expulsion of the Jesuits
In June 1767, King Carlos III of Spain expelled all the Jesuit missionaries from México.
Eventually, the Dominicans continued the missionary efforts of the Jesuits, especially
in the territories of the Cochimí, Kiliwa, Paipai, and Kumeyaay. However, by this
time, southern Baja’s indigenous populations had declined to the point of no return.
Don Laylander explains that “in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the role of
aboriginal peoples in the peninsula’s history has become increasingly marginal. In the
central and southern portions of the peninsula, culturally distinct aboriginal
populations had disappeared before 1900.”
The Kiliwa were one of the few Baja groups that was able to hang on, albeit
precariously. In 1840, the Kiliwa, who lived in Baja’s northeast corner, successfully
rebelled against the Dominicans and fled into quiet isolation. This seclusion enabled
the Kiliwa to survive into the Twentieth Century. In 1938, University of California
Berkeley anthropologist, Peveril Meigs, searched the entire Baja Peninsula for
surviving bands. At that time, he located and did studies on a small band of about
fifty Kiliwa living in the east-facing canyons of northern Baja’s mountains.
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Political Chronology
In January 1824, after the Mexican Republic was constituted, the central government
organized and oversaw the Territory of Baja. Twenty four years later, the Treaty of
Guadalupe Hidalgo – which ended the Mexican-American War – divided the territory of
California, with the northern half, called Alta California, being ceded to the United
States, while the southern half remained with Mexico as Baja California.
On April 26, 1850, two partidos (secondary administrative divisions) were created as
Baja California Norte and Baja California Sur. On December 14, 1887, the status of
both partidos was changed to distritos (districts), and on January 1, 1888, the
northern part of the peninsula became known as the Northern District of Baja
California. On December 30, 1930, the separate territories of Baja California Norte
and Baja California Sur were created, effective February 7, 1931. The northern
territory became a state on January 16, 1952, while the southern Baja State achieved
statehood on October 24, 1974.
Indigenous Groups of the Twentieth Century
By the end of the Nineteenth Century, the aboriginal population of the entire Baja
Peninsula had been severely depleted. Up until the 1910 census, the population
statistics for Baja California Sur and Baja California Norte were tallied together as one
jurisdiction. According to the 1895 Mexican census, some 2,150 individuals spoke
indigenous languages in Baja California. However, this tally dropped to 1,111 at the
time of the 1900 census.
The indigenous speaking population for the Baja territories dropped further in 1910 to
711, representing only 1.36% of the total population. Although most of the indigenous
speakers spoke languages indigenous to other states, 96 Cochimí speakers were
counted. Yaqui-speaking individuals (primarily from the state of Sonora) were tallied
at 65, while Otomí speakers from central México numbered 40.
Baja California and the 2000 Census
According to the 2000 census, the population of persons five years of age and more in
the northern state of Baja California who spoke indigenous languages amounted to
37,685 individuals. These individuals spoke at least forty-five languages from Mexico
and United States but represented only 1.87% of the total state population 5 years of
age and older (2,010,869).
Interestingly, the great majority of the indigenous-speakers in Baja California Norte in
2000 were actually transplants from other parts of the Mexican Republic. The largest
language groups represented were the
1. Mixteco (11,962 speakers)
2. Zapoteco (2,987)
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3. Náhuatl (2,165)
4. Purépecha (2,097)
5. Triqui (1,437)
These are all languages that are indigenous to other parts of the Mexican Republic.
Transplanted Languages
As a matter of fact, 2000 census statistics indicate that 1,025,754 of the 2,487,367
residents of Baja California Norte were, in fact, natives of other entities, representing
a total migrant population of 41.2%. In the 2000 census, 41,014 persons in Baja
claimed Oaxaca as their birthplace, and it is likely that most of the 11,962 Mixtecos
and 2,987 Zapotecos living in the state were probably natives of that state.
Already, in the 1970s, Baja had become a major zone of attraction for Mixtec farm
laborers, with Ensenada and Tijuana as their primary destination points. Baja
California growers almost exclusively recruited Oaxacans laborers for their
agricultural labor needs. An additional 89,083 residents of Baja claimed Michoacán de
Ocampo as their birthplace, possibly explaining the substantial number of Purépechaspeaking
individuals living in the state (2,097).
Baja California Sur and the 2000 Census
In the 2000 census, the government classified 5,353 inhabitants 5 years of age or more
as speakers of more than fifty Indian languages. However, these indigenous speakers
represented a mere 0.22% of the total population of the same age group. The
primary groups were (in order):
1. Mixteco (1,955)
2. Náhuatl (987)
3. Zapoteco (606)
4. Amuzgo (126)
5. Trique (113)
6. Purépecha (106)
All of these languages are imports from the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Michoacán and
Guerrero.
Oaxaca Migrants
Also in the 2000 census, it was reported that 137,928 of the residents of Baja Sur (out
of the total population of 424,041) were born in other political entities, indicating
that migrants represented 32.5% of the total population of the state. Today, the
Mixteco and Zapoteco Indians are the only significant indigenous languages spoken in
Baja California Sur. It is likely that most of the 1,955 Mixtecos and 606 Zapotecos
living in Baja were probably born in Oaxaca. In the 2000 census, 8,083 persons in
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Baja Sur claimed Oaxaca as their birthplace, while another 8,564 listed Michoacán as
their birthplace, the original home of the Purépecha language.
The use of Oaxacan migrant labor in Baja California Sur has been a well-established
practice since the 1970s. For more than thirty years, many Baja California growers
have recruited Oaxacans almost exclusively, with La Paz as a major destination for
most Mixteco laborers.
Baja California and the 2010 Census
In the 2010 census, Baja California ranked 22 nd in regard to its percentage of
indigenous speakers. In all, 41,731 indigenous speakers three years of age and older
represented 1.5% of the state population, the most spoken languages being:
1. Mixtecos (15,562 individuals —37.3% of the indigenous-speaking population)
2. Zapotecos (4,569 individuals, — 11.4% of the indigenous-speaking population)
3. Náhuatl (2,978 individuals, — 7.1% of the indigenous-speaking population)
The vast majority of the specified indigenous speakers in Baja California in 2010 were
people who spoke Oaxaca languages, such as Zapoteco, Mixteco and Triqui. As noted
earlier, for the previous fifty years, Oaxacans had been migrating to Baja to find
employment.
Baja California Sur and the 2010 Census
In the 2010 census, Baja California Sur ranked 20 th among the Mexican States in regard
to the percentage of indigenous speakers five years of age and older. In that year, the
State had 10,661 indigenous speakers, who represented 1.9% of its total population,
including:
1. Náhuatl (3,016 individuals — 27.9% of all the indigenous-speaking language)
2. Mixtecos (2,214 individuals — 20.5% of the indigenous-speaking language)
3. Zapotecos (1,029 individuals — 9.5% of the indigenous-speaking population)
Another 16% of the states’ inhabitants speak the Popoloca, Mazateco, Popoluca and
Mixe languages. All of these languages are exports from other Mexican states.
The Rarest of the Rare (2000-2010)
Unfortunately, the Indian groups indigenous specifically to Baja California never
recovered from their initial declines of the Seventeenth Century and are few in
number as revealed in recent census tallies.
Pai-Pai
The speakers of the Paipai language, living in the Santa Catarina community of the
Ensenada municipio in northern Baja California, numbered 193 in the 2010 census.
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Their language is nearly dead and most of those who speaking the language are now
bilingual, also speaking Spanish.
Kumiai
Estimates of the Kumiai population in Mexico at the end of the Twentieth Century put
their numbers at 600. However, by 2000, the Mexican census recorded only 159
persons five years of age and older who actually spoke the Kumiai language in the
state and all but 13 of these also spoke Spanish and were thus bilingual.
Between the 2000 and 2010 Mexican census, the number of Kumiai speakers in Baja
California increased from 159 persons to 372, an increase of 134%. The majority of
the Kumiai speakers were located in the Ensenada Municipio (236) or the Tecate
Municipio (105).
Cochimí
The Cochimí culture – located primarily in the central and southern parts of Baja
California – declined dramatically by the beginning of the Nineteenth Century. By
2000, only 80 Cochimí speakers were registered as inhabitants of the northern Baja
state, most of them living in the municipios of Ensenada, Mexicali, and Tecate.
Currently, the surviving Cochimíes live in a community called La Huerta, located 12
kilometers from Ojos Negros, on the San Felipe-Ensenada highway; and in San Antonio
Necua, six kilometers south of the Tecate-Ensenada highway at kilometer 70.
Kiliwa
In the 2000 census, only 46 persons were classified as speakers of the Kiliwa language.
Ten years later, this number had dropped to 41 Kiliwa’s across both states, with thirty
residing in the Ensenada municipio of the north.
Readers who are interested in studying more detailed information about the nearly
extinct indigenous languages of Baja California can learn more by accessing the
Ethnologue website at the following link:
http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=MX
Copyright © 2018, by John P. Schmal. All Rights Reserved.
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Sources:
Aschman, Homer, “The Central Desert of Baja California: Demography and Ecology,”
Ibero-Americana 42 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1959).
Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI). “Censo de Población y Vivienda
2010: Tabulados del Cuestionario Básico: Población de 3 años y más que habla lengua
indígena por entidad federativa y lengua.”
Laylander, Don, “The Linguistic Prehistory of Baja California,” in Gary S. Breschini
and Trudy Haversat, “Contributions to the Linguistic Prehistory of Central and Baja
California,” Archives of California Prehistory Number 44 (Salinas, California: Coyote
Press, 1997).
Massey, William C., “Tribes and Languages of Baja California,” Southwestern Journal
of Anthropology, V (Autumn 1949): 272-307.
Massey, William C., “Brief Report on Archaeological Investigations in Baja California,”
Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, III (Winter 1947): 344-359.
Meigs, Peveril, “The Kiliwa Indians of Lower California,” Ibero-Americana, 15
(Berkeley, California: University of California, 1939).
Robertson, Michael Wilken-et al. “Sustainable Development in the Indigenous
Communities of Baja California” (Ensenada, Baja California: Native Cultures Institute
of Baja California and the Council for Environmental Cooperation, 1998).
Scheffler, Lilian, “Los Indígenas Mexicanos” (México City: Panorama Editoiral, 1992),
pp. 17-21
Simons, Gary F. and Charles D. Fennig (eds.). “Ethnologue: Languages of the World:
Mexico.” (21 st Edition: Dallas, Texas: SIL International, 2018). Online version:
https://www.ethnologue.com/country/MX
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