Comecrudo people explained

Group:Comecrudo
Regions:Northern Tamaulipas (c. 19th century)
Languages:Comecrudo language
Religions:Indigenous
Related Groups:Coahuiltecan people

The Comecrudo people were an Indigenous people of Mexico, who lived in the northern state of Tamaulipas.[1] They were a Coahuiltecan people.[1]

Territory

The Comecrudo lived in northern Tamaulipas in the 17th and 18th centuries. In the late 18th century, they lived on the southern bank of the Rio Grande, not far from Reynosa.[1]

Language

They spoke the Comecrudo language, one of the Pakawan languages. Swiss-American ethnologist Albert S. Gatschet worked with eight Comecrudo elders who remembered some of the language to record vocabulary words in 1886.[1]

Name

The name Comecrudo means "raw meat eaters" in Spanish. Spanish colonists also called them the Carrizo,[1] meaning "reed." In 1886, they told Gaschet they preferred the name Comecrudo over Carrizo.[2] The Tonkawa and Kiowa called them the "shoeless people."[2]

History

In 1886, about 30 to 35 Comecrudo lived near Charco Escondido in Tamaulipas. Their last elected chief, Marcelino, died in 1856.[2]

The Kiowa took some Comecrudo captive.[2]

Heritage group

An organization in Floresville, Texas, claims descent from the Comecrudo and formed the Carrizo Comecrudo Nation of Texas Inc.[3] As an unrecognized organization, they are neither a federally recognized tribe[4] nor a state-recognized tribe.[5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Campbell . Thomas N. . Comecrudo Indians . Texas State Historical Association . 1 May 2022.
  2. Book: Hodge . Frederick Webb . Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, vol 1 . 2003 . Smithsonian Institution . Washington, DC . 978-1-58218-7488 . 209.
  3. Web site: Carrizo Comecrudo Nation of Texas Inc. . Charity Navigator . 1 May 2022.
  4. Web site: Indian Entities Recognized by and Eligible To Receive Services From the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs . Indian Affairs Bureau . Federal Register . 1 May 2022 . 7554–58 . January 21, 2022.
  5. Web site: State Recognized Tribes . National Conference of State Legislatures . 1 May 2022 . 25 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221025051136/https://www.ncsl.org/legislators-staff/legislators/quad-caucus/list-of-federal-and-state-recognized-tribes.aspx#State . dead .