"Overland Trail Museum Exhibit"
*This page is dedicated to Texas Yaqui Indian and Ya'ut (leader): Ave'lino Cobayori Domingues Urquides who led a band of Yaqui Indians into the Texas Border Town of Presidio Texas and Ft. Davis, These Indians changed their names and Identities in order to survive and flee from Mexican Soldiers and U.S. Authorities in 1865-1875.
Evidence of Yaqui Indians in and along the Texas Border is Archived here:
*This Site is working in conjunction with the Presidio Tx. Historical Society.*
This website is also for Genealogical purposes to help those researching their Yaqui Indian ancestry in Texas and the State of Sonora and Chihuahua, All information and historical records on this site are not to be used or copied without permission from the The Band of Yaqui Indians,.
The Yoeme / Hiaki or Yaqui (meaning the people) are the most widespread Native American people of the southwest before there was ever a borderline. During the wars in Mexico many Yaqui people fled to the U.S., one of the largest and most organized group were the Yaquis that fled to Arizona. Many other smaller Yaqui groups such as families and individuals went to California, New Mexico and even as far as Texas. They went where the work was or worked for the Railroads or Farms, They hid their identities in order to survive from mexican firing squads or slavery. The Yaqui Nation as a whole were never conquered so today Yaqui Indians are the most Uncounted and Unidentified Native American people in the SouthWest, The only Federally Recognized Tribe in the U.S. are the Pascua Yaqui Indians of Arizona, They makeup only a small part of the Yaqui Population in the U.S. this page is in dedication to those other Yaqui renegade families in the U.S. whose families and ancestors survived the persecutions of both the U.S. and Mexico,. Using todays Technology Proof of Yaqui Ancestry can now be obtained through Genealogy websites required by U.S. State and Federal Laws. This website is our Documentation's and Records,.
"Texas Yaqui Indians of 1870"
Presidio and Ft. Davis Counties
As told by beloved Jesusa Urquides Flores (1870-1936), Daughter of a Yaqui Indian Chief. (original story translated)
This story was passed down generation to generation within the families of Urquides, Flores, Sotelo, Garcia and Ramirez. This story tells of Indians that fled Mexico during the Yaqui Indian Wars of 1850-1880. All Yaqui Indians by order of Porfirio Diaz (President of Mexico) were to be deported to the Yucatan Peninsula to work as slaves or executed by firing squads. All information and records of these Indians were kept within these families and had strict orders not tell anyone of this information for fear of persecutions and military encampments. These records and stories originated from the families of the Chief or Leader of these band of Indians Abelino (almost to the line) Domingues Urquides who led this band of "Texas Yaqui Indians" undetected, into the Texas border town of Presidio from Ojinaga, and from Jimenez Chihuahua and from Indian Villages in the state of Sonora Mexico. During these "Indian Wars" many Yaqui's began to flee Mexico, many men, women and children did not make it out and were killed on the spot of identification by Mexican Soldados (soldiers). Yaqui's by the hundreds fled to Tucson Arizona and found refuge there under the United States Government, Others fled to other border states staying together as families and groups.
Yaqui Indians from surrounding villages left Sonora around 1845 after fighting and killing Mexican Soldiers. They were "wanted". These Yaqui's were commonly known as Mountain Yaquis and were more Renegade in stature and Warlike and Fierce. These Yaquis and others fighters from Alamos Sonora made their way into the Mountains of Western Chihuahua to avoid Mexican soldiers whom they constantly fought with. At this time between 1850 and 1880 many Yaqui Chiefs and Leaders were being executed by Mexican firing squads and it was time to abandon the Yaqui Homelands. Abelino was born sometime between 1835-1839. His Father was Jose Buitemea Valenzuela and Mother was Juana Jesusa Domingues,. These Yaqui fighters numbered around 40 to 50 in Jimenez Chihuahua Mexico and they encountered and fought Apache Indians in Chihuahua Mountains. They were on horseback and stole and killed cattle from Mexican ranches. Some Indians took Mexican women from households and were married into the group. Abelino had a Yaqui woman with him under the name of Natividad Carrasco (originally from Alamos) whom he had children with. These indians eventually found work in haciendas and began farming, blending in with families and changing their names. Abelino was taken under by a well-to-do family who owned the Hacienda of Urquides where he changed his name from Domingues to Urquides . This Urquides family had 13 children. Head of the household was Bernardino and wife Jesusa Urquides. Abelino and Natividad had 4 children: Zacarias, Maria, Dario and Jose Urquides. These indians lived in the town of Jimenez for 13 years, from 1853 to 1867. They tried to start a new life away from war and soldiers but they soon would be found by the Mexican Government after they learned of hostiles finding work in Jimenez.
In the time of 1869-1870, Abelino's indians found trouble, Mexican Soldiers were coming for them. Overnight they left Jimenez leaving behind children Zacarias and Maria with the Urquides family and made their way to Ojinaga, they fought with soldiers and the soldiers lost track of the Indians when they crossed the water into Presidio Texas at night. No tracks were left and horses were abandoned. The number of these hostiles were numbered to 40 after the fighting in Mexico and the ones who were captured. These Indians crossed undetected by Ft. Davis nearby. They found work and blended into families and changed their names again. Reports of Indians in Presidio were constant. Apache's from Victorio's group and Comanche's were well known in these areas. Some other names of these Indians were Buitemea, Buturen, Valenzuela, Galindo, Lujan and Cobayori. In 1870 in Presidio Abelino and Natividad had another child, Jesusa Urquides, who he named after his brother. Abelino found work as a woodchopper and laborer and was with another woman at the time of his marriage to Natividad, Around the time of Jesusa's age of 5, he abandoned Natividad and his daughter at a convent called "Convento de los Montes" at that time. Natividad soon died and Jesusa was left alone with the nuns. They abused her because she was Indian and beat her. Abelino had another wife who was Mexican by the name of Manuella, she operated a dance hall and he had more children with her. Dario, his oldest son, stayed with him, Jose with other Yaqui Indians left Presidio and went to Carlsbad, New Mexico to work there. They all kept the name Urquides. Later Abelino took another wife by the name of Santiaga; she was 43 and he was 73 years old in 1913 in Presidio. Jesusa remembers her father coming to see her at the Convent one time. He came on horseback with her older brother Dario. She remembers her father as very dark skinned. He always wore a black hat and he had long braids. That was the last time she saw her father and she did not know he married other women and had other children. She and her brothers were told to never tell of "us" Indians that came here and to say they were Mexican so they would not be hanged, or go to the Reservations where there is no life. Jesusa knew of her father and he was a Chief who took the name Urquides and at the age of 13 a cowboy by the name of Bueno Ventura (Bentura) Flores from Zacatecas Mexico, liked her and took her from the Convent with resistance. He took out his pistola and warned them he would shoot anyone who would try to stop them. Bentura and Jesusa left Presidio and went to Shafter, Texas, where he worked in the mines. Jesusa and Bentura had many children on the way north to Lorenzo and Lubbock Texas. Bentura was well known in Lubbock to be the first Mexican immigrant to own land in Lubbock and Jesusa kept her identity and stories within the family. Jesusa became a Methodist and did not want to be Catholic like the Yaqui's were because of the beatings from the Nuns, she believed Catholics were bad people. Dario, her older brother went later to New Mexico to work for the railroad, He died in Roswell in 1934. Abelino was last known to live in Presidio in 1913 at the age of 73, and it is not known if he is buried there or went back to the Yaqui Tribe after the fighting was over. Other Indians that came with Abelino had interracial marriages and became Yori (Mexicans) in and around Presidio County to El Paso - they did not want to fight or run anymore. Abelino's family became holders of this luturia and information of the Yaqui Indians that came to Presidio and to hide the Yaqui Chief known as "Lino Urquides" from the Soldiers,.
*note: the term "chief" is used in the anglo sense in translation, Ya'ut (Ya'ura) leader is more accurate when these group of indians gave Lino that title on route to Chihuahua.*
* UPDATE to story: Dario Urquidez was found to be buried in Roswell New Mexico South Park Cemetery plot PB. He died in 1934 and shows to have a wife named Maria Rodriguez Urquidez.
*taken in Lubbock Texas 1921 (left to right), Jesusa (Covajori) Urquides Flores (daughter of Chief Lino) Sarah Flores (daughter of Jesusa) and Bentura Flores first land owner in Lubbock,.
Fort Davis Texas 1880.
*All Records, Photo's and Family Artifacts are submitted into the Presidio County's Historical Society at Ft. Davis for it's own exhibit in the Museum and is now open to the Public!
"OVERLAND TRAIL MUSEUM at FT. DAVIS TEXAS"
"Texas Yaqui Indian Exhibit"
northern sonora tribes joining together during the wars in mexico explained at the link below,
Site Contact Email: firstname.lastname@example.org
Yaqui Indians of northern Mexico who have been captured after uprising against unjust seizure of their land. Sold as debt peons slaves to the infamous henequen (for rope and twine) plantations in the Valle Nacional,Yucatan where they faced a life expectancy of 6 months. It was cheaper to buy more Indian slaves than to keep them alive.Yaqui Indians made up a large part of the army of Obregon and fought with a desperate fury. Conditions such as these lead to the Mexican Revolution .Photo from the muckraker book Barbarous Mexico by John Kenneth Turner
Stories and evidence of Yaqui Indians in Texas has been known throughout the Southwest particularly in El-Paso and along the Texas Border when they helped in the wars with Pancho Villa
links of relation:
Mission 2000 (above) shows the population of yaqui indians in and around baviacora sonora along with other indians from other tribes as well. direct proof yaqui's were everywhere in sonora.