Yojuane facts for kids
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
( Texas) |
|
| Languages | |
| Tonkawa language or Jumano language | |
| Religion | |
| traditional tribal religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Jumano Indians |
The Yojuane were a group of people who lived in what is now Texas a long time ago, during the 1500s, 1600s, and 1700s. They were very close to the Jumano people. Some historians think they might also have been related to the Tonkawa tribe. It's important to know they are not connected to the Yowani, who are a different group of Choctaw people in Texas.
What's in a Name?
Some people think the Yojuane tribe got its name in a funny way. They believe it happened when a Spanish explorer asked a tribe member, "Who are you?" The person might have answered, "yo Juan," meaning "I am Juan." However, there is not much proof for this idea.
What Language Did They Speak?
Historians have different ideas about the Yojuane language. Many experts, like Herbert E. Bolton, thought the Yojuane spoke the Tonkawa language. Or they believed it was a language very similar to Tonkawa.
However, another scholar named Gary Anderson has a different idea. He thinks the Yojuane spoke the same language as the Jumano Indians. He believes this language was part of the Uto-Aztecan family. This idea comes from early Spanish trips. During these trips, people who spoke Nahuatl (an Uto-Aztecan language) could talk with the Jumano and Yojuane people.
Yojuane History
Spanish writers first wrote about the Yojuane people around 1690. At that time, a leader named Cantana led them. Cantana had visited Nueva Vizcaya, New Spain, which is now the state of Chihuahua in Mexico.
Cantana was very close to the Jumano people who lived near La Junta de los Rios. It is not clear exactly where the Yojuane lived then. Gary Anderson believes there were about 1,000 Yojuane people at this time. But this number included other groups like the Cholemes and Cabezas, who seemed to be separate tribes.
Other groups also joined the Yojuane. These included the Simonos and Tusonibis (or Tosonibis). They had recently left Nuevo León to escape Spanish control. In 1709, when a Spanish explorer named Isidro de Espinosa met a Yojuane hunting group, the Simonos and Tusonibis were still with them. They were hunting together but were still seen as distinct groups.
In the 1740s, the Yojuane and their friends, the Deadoses, Mayeyes, and Ervipiames, asked for Franciscan missions. These missions were places where Spanish priests lived and taught. The Yojuane later moved to missions along the San Gabriel River. They moved south and west of a large native settlement called Rancheria Grande.
By March 1749, only 74 Yojuane people were counted at the Mission San Francisco Xavier. This mission was along the San Gabriel River. However, there might have been other Yojuane people who were not living at the mission.
In 1759, a Yojuane camp was attacked. An expedition of Spanish soldiers and Apache warriors carried out the attack. Some reports say that one-third of the Yojuane people were killed. Another third escaped, and the last third were captured. Other sources say 55 Yojuane were killed. Also, 149 Yojuane, all women and children, were taken captive. Many of these captives later died from smallpox. Those who survived were forced into slavery. This event is related to the Battle of the Twin Villages.
Among the captives was a boy who was sold to a Spanish soldier. The soldier named the boy Miguel Perez. Perez grew up in San Antonio and learned Spanish ways. But he still kept in touch with the Yojuane people. In 1786, Perez was asked to help convince the Yojuane and their Tonkawa friends to fight the Lipan Apache.
Perez was able to convince the Yojuane that this war was a good idea. So, they joined with the Tawakoni, Iscanis, and Flechazos to attack the Apaches.
