Investor Presentaiton
Chihuahua's Primary Indigenous Groups
Guarijíos (Varohío, Huarijío): The Guarijíos inhabited the Western Sierra Madre
Mountains along the headwaters of the Rio Mayo from Rio Chinipas on the east to the
border of west central Chihuahua and Sonora. Living in the isolated mountain and
canyon country of the western Sierra Madre in Chihuahua, the Guarijíos seemed to
prefer settlements of no more than a few families. Their many settlements were
isolated from each other by steep mountains and precipitous canyons. In the 2010
census, 2,201 Mexicans spoke the Guarijío language, of which 877 lived in Chihuahua
(40%) and another 1,306 lived in Sonora (59%).
Mansos: The Mansos inhabited the Rio Grande River Valley from present-day El Paso
north to Las Cruces, New Mexico, primarily occupying the present-day municipios of
Juarez, Praxedis G. Guerrero, Guadalupe and the northwest section of Ojinaga. The
Mansos were also known as the Gorreta (Gorrite) and are now extinct.
Sumas (Zumas): The Sumas inhabited a range of territory that extended from the
vicinity of present-day El Paso westward across northwestern Chihuahua, including the
present municipios of Juárez, Praxedis G. Guerrero, Janos and Nuevo Casas Grandes.
The Sumas were hunter-gatherer nomads who practiced little or no farming.
Devastated by smallpox in the 1780s, the Sumas entered the Spanish missions near El
Paso and Casas Grandes and merged with the mestizo population, while some Sumas
gradually merged with the Apaches from the north. They are now extinct as a distinct
people.
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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