Investor Presentaiton
Chihuahua's Primary Indigenous Groups
Conchos: Named for the Spanish word for "shells," the Conchos lived near the junction
of the Rio Concho and Rio Grande Rivers in northern Chihuahua (near the present-day
towns of Presidio (Texas) and Ojinaga (Chihuahua). The Spaniards first made contact
with the Conchos Indians in 1575, and Franciscan missionaries began working among
them in the 1590s. Many of the Conchos opted to cooperate within the Spanish
colonial system and were gradually assimilated through the mission system. They are
now extinct as a cultural entity.
Tobosos: The Tobosos inhabited the middle reaches of the Conchos River, as well as
the Bolsón de Mapimí in what is now eastern Chihuahua and western Coahuila. They
were associated with the Jumano and frequently raided Spanish settlements.
Eventually they were rounded up and deported and were replaced by the Apaches as
raiders. They went extinct as a cultural entity by the early Eighteenth Century.
Jova: This tribe was affiliated with the Opata and inhabited the upper part of the Valley
of the Rio Yaqui in present-day Chihuahua. They are now culturally extinct.
Jumanos: The name "Jumanos" was a universal name that was used to identify at least
three distinct peoples of the Southwest and South Plains who lived in Texas, New
Mexico and Chihuahua. One band of Jumanos inhabited the Rio Grande between the
mouth of the Concho River and present day El Paso, extending as far west as Casas
Grandes in Chihuahua. They are believed to be related to the Suma Indians, the two
names possibly being alternates of each other. They are now extinct.
Source: William B. Griffen, "Indian Assimilation in the Franciscan Area of Nueva Vizcaya."
Anthropological Papers of the University of Arizona Number 33 (Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 1979).
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