WHAT ARE THE ETHNIC GROUPS OF COAHUILA? - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The ethnic groups of Coahuila are the Kikapúes 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 the socio-political situation in the United States of America and the conflicts in that land.

Therefore, in the State of Coahuila there is no current registry of ethnic groups originating from the entity. Those who live in this state, on the one hand, are originally from a foreign country.

On the other hand, there are the national ethnic groups of Mexico, such as the Mazahuas who went from the south to Coahuila only seasonally to do business. Some families settled around Torreón.

Indigenous groups of Coahuila, Mexico

The most widely spoken indigenous languages ​​in the state of Coahuila are Nahuatl, Mazahua, Kikapú, and Zapotec. Of the population of five years or more, 95.7% speak Spanish and 1.2% do not speak it.

Kikapú

This is the Spanish 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 "the one who moves here or there."

The Birth of the Kikapúes is the place where these indigenous people live. The place is located in the municipality of Melchor Múzquiz, Coahuila.

It borders the municipality of Acuña to the north, Buenaventura to the south, Zaragoza and Sabinas to the east, and Ocampo to the west.

Before the conquest, the Kikapú tribe was mainly supported by hunting 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 corn and beans, and to fishing.

Migration from the United States to Mexico

After being persecuted by English, French and American colonizers, the chiefs of the Kikapú tribe petitioned the Mexican Government to grant them a space in Texas, which was still part of Mexico at the time.

But in 1850, after some Mexican states became American, the Kikapúes again asked for access to land in the Republic.

In return, they promised to defend the northern border from the attacks of the Comanches and Apaches, considered "barbarian Indians."

Binational Tribe

Those belonging to the indigenous group of the Kikapúes are Mexican and American citizens.

They are considered to have founded the territory of the United States and were also among the first settlers to come to Mexico.

Mascogos

The Mascogos are a community of Afro-descendants. Their African ancestors came to the United States as slaves.

However, they escaped and decided to join a group of Seminole Indians in order to avoid recapture. This is why the name in English by 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 land in Coahuila and those who stayed in Mexico are known as the Negros Mascogos Tribe.

The Congress of Coahuila 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 international treaties.

References

1. National Commission for the Development of the Indigenous Peoples of Mexico (April 2017). «Mascogos. People of Afro-descendants in northern Mexico ». www.cdi.gob.mx/
2. Unknown Mexico (SF). «» The Kikapúes, a people who refuse to lose their identity ». www.mexicodesconocido.com.mx
3. National Commission for the Development of the Indigenous Peoples of Mexico (December 2003), «Kikapú», Indigenous Peoples of Contemporary Mexico. gob.mx/cms/uploads/
4. Secretary of Women of Coahuila (December 2004), "Diagnosis of indigenous women of Coahulia", secretariadelasmujeres.gob.mx
5. State Fund for Culture and the Arts of Coahuila (1999), «Forgotten Tribes of Coahuila», Del Moral, Paulina.