Were the Yaqui Indians the most fearsome warrior tribe?

Ted Mulligan

Massapequa, New York

Maybe not the most fearsome, as the Comanche, Lakota, Apache and other tribes might fit that category, but the Yaqui were a group to be reckoned with.

The Yaqui are the only “non-native” Indians in Arizona. They have been called the “Apache” of Mexico because of their long resistance to outsiders coming onto their lands. They were also known as the “Fighting Farmers of Mexico” because of their agricultural economy.

During the 1880s the Yaquis began leaving Mexico in an effort to escape brutal government efforts to relocate them. Many settled in southern Arizona, where they were accepted as refugees.

During the Mexican Revolution of the 1910s, those remaining in Mexico fought on the losing side and many were forced to flee to the United States.

Battles between Mexican troops and Yaqui warriors continued until 1926. Some of the fighting spread across the border, such as the case when U.S. Army troops and Yaqui warriors engaged in a firefight near Nogales, Arizona, in 1918.