Third Thursday Food for Thought – “The Tucson and Marana Yoeme (Yaqui Indian) Communities”

On Thursday, November 17, 2016, Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s “Third Thursday Food for Thought” dinner will feature a presentation “The Tucson and Marana Yoeme (Yaqui Indian) Communities” by Yoeme historian Felipe Molina at El Molinito Mexican Restaurant, 10180 N. Oracle Rd., Oro Valley, Arizona. From 6 to 8:30 p.m. Free (Order your own dinner off of the restaurant’s menu).
Yoeme (Yaqui Indian) settlement in Arizona stemmed from the Mexican government’s war with the Yoeme in the state of Sonora during the 1890s and early 1900s. Toward the end of the nineteenth century Mexico began deporting Yoeme from their homeland in Sonora to other Mexican states, and after 1880 there was a steady migration of Yoeme into southern Arizona that reached its maximum in the early 1900s. By 1908 hundreds of Yoeme had fled into the U.S. and settled permanently here, and in the 1920s more of them fled Mexico to seek political asylum in the U.S. and join the Yoeme settlements that by then had grown up in southern Arizona. By 1940 there were about 3,000 Yoeme in Arizona, mostly living in several well-established villages including Libre (Barrio Libre) and Pascua (Barrio Loco) in Tucson, Wiilo Kampo in Marana, and others near Phoenix, Scottsdale, Eloy, and Somerton, Arizona. In 1952 the City of Tucson annexed the original 40-acre Pascua village where many Yoeme continue to live, and in 1978 the U.S. Government established the Pascua Yaqui Indian Reservation (originally called New Pascua) after granting federal recognition to the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. In this presentation, Yoeme historian Felipe Moline will tell about the early settlement locations provided to him by his maternal grandfather and grandmother, his grandmother’s cousin, and several elders from Tucson’s original Pascua Village.
[Also see February 11, 2017 “Tucson and Marana Yoeme (Yaqui Indian) Communities” cultural sites tour announcement.]
Guests may select and purchase their own dinners from the restaurant’s menu. There is no entry fee but donations will be requested to benefit Old Pueblo’s educational efforts. Because seating is limited in order for the program to be in compliance with the Fire Code, those wishing to attend must call 520-798-1201 and must have their reservations confirmed before 5 p.m. on the Wednesday before the program date.