Tepehuan

The Tepehuan inhabited the mountains and valleys of northern Durango, where their communities cultivated crops and moved among settlements in the Sierra Madre. Their name comes from Nahuatl and refers to people of the mountains. Spanish mines and Jesuit missions reached their country in the sixteenth century, bringing new demands and drawing communities into settlements such as Santiago Papasquiaro, Santa Catarina and El Zape.

In November 1616 Tepehuan leaders launched a widespread uprising against Spanish rule. Missions and settlements were attacked across the region, including Santiago Papasquiaro and El Zape. Spanish forces fought the rebels over the following years, and the revolt was declared ended in 1620. Many surviving Tepehuan withdrew into the mountains, while missionaries spent years attempting to draw them back to mission communities. The upheaval left a lasting mark on the northern frontier of Nueva Vizcaya.