The ethnic groups of Coahuila are the Kikapu and the Mascogos. It is estimated that in this entity there are 5,842 indigenous people, who are distributed in Saltillo, Torreón and Acuña.
Both ethnic groups crossed the border into Mexico, fleeing from the socio-political situation of the United States of America and the conflicts of that land.
Therefore, in the State of Coahuila there is no current record of ethnic groups originating in the state. Those who live in this state, on the one hand, are from a foreign country.
On the other hand, there are the national ethnic groups of Mexico, like the mazahuas that went from the south to Coahuila only by seasons to make commerce. Some families settled around Torreon.
Indigenous groups of Coahuila, Mexico
The most widely spoken indigenous languages in the state of Coahuila are Nahuatl , mazahua, kikapú and zapoteco. Of the population of five years or more, 95.7% speak Spanish and 1.2% do not speak it.
Kikapú
This is the Castilian name of"kikaapoa", which can be translated as"those who walk the earth". Although the name is also related to the word kiwigapawa or kiwikapawa, which means"he who moves here or there."
The Birth of the Kikapu is the place where these indigenous people live. The place is located in the municipality of Melchor Múzquiz, Coahuila.
It borders to the north with the municipality of Acuña, to the south with Buenaventura, to the east with Saragossa and Sabinas, and to the Occident with Ocampo.
Before the conquest, the Kikapu tribe was mainly supported by the hunting of deer and bears.
They were semi-sedentary, during the winter they hunted, while in the summer they collected wild fruits. Also, they were dedicated to the cultivation of maize and bean, and to the fishing.
Migration from the United States to Mexico
After being persecuted by English, French and American colonists, the Kikapu chiefs petitioned the Mexican Government to grant them a space in Texas, which was still part of Mexico.
But in 1850, after some Mexican states became American, the Kikapúes again requested access to earth in the Republic.
In return they pledged to defend the northern border of the attacks of the Comanches and Apaches, considered as"barbarian Indians".
Binational Tribe
Those belonging to the indigenous Kikapu group are Mexican and American citizens.
It is considered that they founded the territory of the United States and also were of the first settlers who came to Mexico.
Mascots
Mascots are a community of Afro-descendants. His African ancestors came to the United States as slaves.
However, they escaped and decided to join a group of Seminole Indians, to avoid recapture. This is why the name in English with which they are known is"black seminoles".
Some members of the tribe fled to Mexico, because in that country slavery had been abolished since 1829.
The refugees received in Coahuila land and those who stayed in Mexico are known as Tribe of Negros Mascogos.
The Coahuila Congress decreed in March 2017 that this tribe, settled in the central area of Coahuila, will be recognized as an indigenous group.
With this they are given the freedom to apply their own regulations, but always backed by the Mexican Constitution and by international treaties.
References
- National Commission for the Development of the Indigenous Peoples of Mexico (April 2017). "Mascots. Afro-descendant people in northern Mexico". www.cdi.gob.mx/
- Mexico Unknown (SF). ""The Kikapu, a people who resists losing their identity." www.mexicodesconocido.com.mx
- National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples of Mexico (December 2003),"Kikapú", Indigenous Peoples of Contemporary Mexico. gob.mx/cms/uploads/
- Secretary of Women of Coahuila (December 2004),"Diagnosis of indigenous women of Coahulia", secretariadelasmujeres.gob.mx
- State Fund for Culture and Arts of Coahuila (1999),"Forgotten Tribes of Coahuila", Del Moral, Paulina.