Pame - History and Cultural Relations

Since there is no archaeological evidence concerning the Pame, most of what is known about their history has been written since the Conquest. It is believed, though, that the Pame were part of the larger Chichimec, a group of nomadic hunters, in northeastern Mexico. The Chichimec formed a cultural boundary between the sedentary agriculturists of Mesoamerica and the nomadic Indians of the Mesa del Norte. That the Pame exist today can be largely attributed to the fact that they were able to accept a sedentary life-style under Spanish colonial rule much more easily than other Chichimec groups.

Neither the missionaries nor the military forces were ever fully capable of colonizing the Pame, primarily because the Pame lived in dispersed groups in the mountains and in the desert. The Spanish found it both difficult and undesirable to conquer peoples living in a land of such rough terrain.

The missionaries attempted to move the Pame into centralized towns, where missions could be established; however, in most cases, the Pame returned to their own homes. In this way, missionary attempts to establish communities in which to socialize and evangelize the Pame failed.

One of the most prolonged attempts at military pacification in Latin America occurred between 1550 and 1590. This conflict was known as the Chichimec wars. All of the various groups of Chichimec Indians banded together to defend themselves against the Spanish. The conflict centered on land; the Spanish wanted to mine deposits of ore that had been discovered on Chichimec land.

The Pame remained relatively uninvolved in this war. It is difficult to tell if this was because the lands they inhabited were marginal and thus not so greatly threatened, or if the Pame simply sought to stay out of the war. In any case, the Pame, unlike many of the neighboring tribes, were not destroyed.

During the colonial period, private landowners used their political power to usurp lands held by Pame Indians. This process, which continued until the Mexican Revolution, reduced many of the Pame to migrant laborers and landless peasants. The revolutionaries who gained power in the wake of the Mexican Revolution desired, among other things, to bring about agrarian reform. Many Pame were granted parcels of land that their ancestors had held; however, most of the land that was returned to the Pame was inadequate to provide economic subsistence to the Pame landholder.

At present, the Pame continue to live as migrant laborers and peasants on marginal lands. Throughout their history, the Pame ability to live on the periphery of more densely populated Mesoamerica has enabled them to continue to exist, while at the same time limiting Pame ability to succeed within the dominant community.