Opata People

Opata People

Opata (pronounced óh-pah-tah) is the collective name for three indigenous peoples native to the northern Mexican border state of Sonora. Opata territory, the "Opateria", encompasses the mountainous northeast and central part of the state extending to near the border with the United States. Most Opatan towns were situated in river valleys and had an economy based on irrigated agriculture. In the 16th century when they first met the Spanish, the Opata were the most numerous people in Sonora. As an identifiable ethnic group, the Opata and their language are now extinct, or nearly extinct.