Yaqui

Yaqui, tribe of Native Americans living in Sonora, northern Mexico, and in Arizona and California. In ancient times the Yaqui lived by farming, hunting, and gathering. They defeated the invading Spaniards (1533 and 1609). After making peace, they arranged for the Jesuit missionaries to live with them and teach them European agricultural methods. As a result, the Yaqui culture blends Roman Catholicism and ancient Yaqui custom. Starting in the 1730s the Yaqui rebelled against Spanish colonial rule. Fighting continued into the 1900s, and many Yaqui fled to the United States. Modern Yaqui are primarily subsistence farmers.