Assembling ‘Enduring Peoples,' mediating recognition: Anthropology, the Pascua Yaqui Indians, and the co-construction of ideas and politics

ABSTRACT

This article compares the concurrent development of Edward Spicer’s theory of ‘enduring peoples’ and his political support for the federal recognition of the Pascua Yaqui Indians of Southern Arizona. This case illustrates how dynamic conceptions of acculturation and indigeneity dissipate in the face of recognition and more politically expedient narratives.

KEYWORDS:

• Yaqui Indians
• history of anthropology
• recognition
• indigeneity
• acculturation studies

Acknowledgements

For archival assistance, I thank the dedicated archivists at the Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona Library, and the Joseph Regenstein Library for facilitating my access to key nodes of historical documentation. For research and writing support, I thank the University of New Mexico-Andrew W. Mellon Dissertation Completion Fellowship, the Center for Regional Studies at the University of New Mexico, the Robert L. Platzman Memorial Fellowship, and the Edward H. and Rosamond B. Spicer Foundation. I am indebted to Grant Arndt, David Dinwoodie, Les Field, Susana Sepulveda, and Lindsay Smith for their insightful commentary on various iterations of this piece. I was fortunate enough to present an early version of this research as part of the panel ‘‘Recognition’ and Anthropology,’ organized by David Dinwoodie for the annual meeting of the American Anthropology Association, San Jose, 2018. I drew great inspiration from the papers of my fellow panelists Grant Arndt, David Dinwoodie, Laura Graham, Thomas Guthrie, and Suzanne Oakdale. A very special thank you is owed to the editors at History and Anthropology and the two anonymous readers who provided critical feedback.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 Historically, Yaqui peoples have referred to themselves as Yoeme amongst themselves. In the presence of Yoris (white people), the term Yaqui is most commonly used (Spicer 1988, 99). The origin of the term is unclear. According to Andrés Pérez de Ribas, in 1645, Jesuits encountered a group of Indians who said, “Don’t you see we are hiaqui, ‘the ones who make sounds’?” (quote in Shorter 2009, 7). Since this essay explores intercultural engagements, I follow the recent historical literature and retain the use of the term Yaqui (Rensink 2018; Schulze 2018).

2 Spicer used the singular “enduring people” (1980). Following his death in 1983, Rosamond Spicer began to publish portions of his unfinished manuscript Enduring Peoples or Ten Against the State. Rosamond adopted the plural version of the phrase. To avoid shifting back and forth, I use the plural.

3 More complete accounts of Spicer’s life can be found in Officer (1995); Spicer (1990).

4 For more focused details accounts of Yaqui experiences of colonization, capitalism, diaspora, and recognition see Castile (2002); Hu-DeHart (1984); Leza (2015); Meeks (2007); Miller (2004); Rensink (2018); Schulze (2018); Truett (2008).

5 The decision to frame his study in terms of Radcliffe-Brown’s brand of functionalism was a late addition to the project. After reading the first draft, Redfield reportedly commented, “This is fine as an ethnographic field report, but where is your thesis?” According to Rosamond Spicer, Ned, “devasted,” began a complete rewrite “guided far more by R-B’s ideas than by Redfield” (Spicer 1990, 13).

6 There is some evidence to suggest that Yaqui arrival in present-day Arizona dates to an even earlier period. As Raphael Folsom has noted, beginning in the 1630s, silver mining began to pull Yaquis northward and beyond the ambit of the Jesuits (2014, 117–118). One can imagine a scenario in which individuals might have branched off from the northern most mines to reach Southern Arizona. I am indebted to one of the anonymous readers for bringing this important point to my attention. However, this is still conjectural as there appear to be no mention of Spanish mines in Southern Arizona until the 18th century and no mention of Yaqui mining labor in the region until 1814 (Officer 1990, 5-8).

7 In 1970, Tom Turner wrote a series of eight investigative article for the Arizona Daily Star regarding the mismanagement of OEO funds, Turner 1970; Turner 1970; Turner 1970.

8 Again, I must thank the same anonymous reader for bringing this historical pattern to my attention.

9 Despite the presence of lawyers and testimony, neither the ICC nor the Yaqui Senate hearing were proper trials with the same legally binding consequences as a court of law.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Mellon Foundation partnered with UNM to create this fellowship, the Center for Regional Studies at the University of New Mexico, the Robert L. Platzman Memorial Fellowship, and the Edward H. and Rosamond B. Spicer Foundation.