Opata People - History

History

At the time of first contact with the Spanish in the mid-16th century, the Opateria was a land of “statelets” -- a number of independent, agricultural towns scattered up and down the inland valleys of the Sonora and other rivers. There were at least 5 Opata statelets and 4 others which were either Opata, Pima, or mixed. The statelets had populations of several thousand people consisting of towns surrounded by dispersed dwellings and irrigated cropland on which the Opata grew corn, squash, beans, and cotton. The Jova, however, were a more dispersed people, living in more rugged terrain, and depending more on hunting and gathering that the other Opata groups.

The Opata fiercely resisted the expedition of Spanish explorer, Francisco Ibarra in 1565 and, for a period of 60 years thereafter, the Spanish made no further attempts to conquer the Opateria. However, during that period, the statelets declined and were replaced, in part, by a much-reduced population and a “rancheria” culture of small settlements and dispersed dwellings. The likely cause of the decline of the statelets and population were epidemics of introduced European diseases which killed thousands of the Opata and neighboring peoples. Jesuit missionaries established a mission in Opateria in 1628 and initially encountered little opposition to their efforts to evangelize and, later, to re-organize Opata society along Spanish lines. The Opata slowly became Spanish allies of convenience. Opata soldiers joined the Spanish in campaigns against their common enemy, the Apache. By 1800, the Opata were mostly Christian, commonly spoke Spanish, and were largely under the rule of the Spanish government. Many Opatans became cowboys on Spanish ranches or migrated to mining towns to work in the mines.

Tension between the Spanish, the Mexicans, and the Opata manifested itself in numerous revolts in the 19th century. In 1820, 300 Opata warriors defeated a Spanish force of 1,000 soldiers and destroyed a mining town near Tonichi. Later, they won another battle at Arivechi, killing more than 30 soldiers. A Spanish force of 2,000 soldiers finally defeated the Opata and forced the survivors to surrender. The Spanish executed their leaders including Dorame, a Eudeve, whose surname is still common in the Opateria region of Sonora. Revolts continued after Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821. Another Opata leader, Dolores Gutierrez, was executed in 1833 by the Mexicans for his involvement in a revolt. Although the Opata had formidable reputations as warriors, they were never able to unite as a single people to oppose the Spanish and Mexicans.

Most of the Opata supported the French during their brief rule of Mexico from 1864 to 1867, as did most Sonoran Indians. An Opata, Refugio Tanori, became a general in the military forces supporting the Imperial rule of Maximilian I. Tanori was captured and executed when the Mexicans defeated the French and their allies. The retribution of the Mexicans on the Opata resulted in the loss of nearly all of their remaining lands and the end of their resistance to Mexican rule.

In 1902, American anthropologist Ales Hrdlicka, estimated the number of full-blood Opatas at 500 to 600. Another anthropologist, Carl Lumholtz, commented that the Opatas had “lost their language, religion, and traditions, dress like the Mexicans, and in appearance are in no way distinguishable from the laboring class of Mexico with which they are thoroughly merged through frequent intermarriage.”