Mezquital

Mezquital lies in the southern mountains of Durango, in a region of deep valleys and Indigenous communities. The O’dam, or southern Tepehuan, have long inhabited this country alongside neighbouring peoples. Franciscan missionaries established a presence in the valley during the sixteenth century. During the Tepehuan uprising of 1616, the church and convent at Mezquital were attacked; the mission was subsequently rebuilt as Spanish authorities sought to gather people into settlements.