ABSTRACT
Figure 9-1. Map of Mexico at around the time of the deportations of the Yaquis (places mentioned in the discussion of the Yaquis’ removal are shaded in dark grey)
As seen in the previous chapters, over centuries the Sonoran Yaquis’ behavior can best be described as non-conformist. This had been the case since their first contacts with Europeans in the early sixteenth century. When they felt the situation called for it, the Yaquis always seemed willing to rise up for their demands. In their conflicts with non-Yaquis, the
Yoeme had proved that they considered themselves to be outside of the social hierarchy envisioned by the government. It became evident by their steadfast attempts to resist incorporation and the annexation of their lands. The latter did not meet with complete success and there were some territorial losses and encroachment. However, the Yaquis retained something like an autonomous space, both in a metaphorical way-their separateness and autonomy-and also in a very tangible, practical way-the territory they referred to as Yaquimi. And they managed to do so even in the face of the massive military intervention during the Porfiriato. Still, the repeated failure of the negotiations, the problems of representation and decision-making, as well as the evident fragmentation illustrate just how much strain the campaign and the deportations had put on the Sonoran Yaquis. Yet while Yoeme resistance may have been in decline from around 1908 onward, it was nonetheless kept up until saved by the Mexican Revolution. However, the success with which the Yaquis had kept up their fight and defended their land and autonomy before the Díaz regime took over eventually contributed to the deportation and forced exile of a significant number of Yaquis to Yucatán, where their will to continue their resistance would be sorely tested.
