Beyond the Alamo: Forging Mexican Ethnicity in San Antonio, 1821-1861

2. Indigenous Identities: Locating “lo Indio” in the Tejano World

We desire to be together as one people, and share the same sympathies as our Mexican brothers, and we should never go back on our promises. —Cherokee chief, letter to Indian commissioner Peter Ellis Bean, July 2, 1828 Chapter Two Indigenous Identities locating “lo indio” in the tejano world W hen prominent Bexareño Francisco Ruiz presented his report to General Manuel Mier y Terán on Indians living in the Department of Texas in 1828, his observations carried the weight of a native of the region and an individual involved in indigenous relations as an agent and soldier. His notes distinguished between dozens of indigenous groups with an eye toward the possibilities of peace and alliance or war. Of the Lipan Apache, Ruiz wrote, “In my opinion, the southern Lipans [Apache] are the most cruel of all the barbaric nations I know. . . . I have been told by some of these Indians that they sometimes eat those they kill in war.”1 By describing them as cannibals, Ruiz depicted Apaches as cruel and barbaric. His words also enlarged the cultural gulf between Apaches and Mexicans by marking the Apaches as dishonorable in warfare and, by extension, unmasculine.2 While Ruiz’s general comments focused on indigenous groups living in the Béxar hinterland, Ruiz wrote from within the context of Béxar and its significant mestizo and mission Indian population. three worlds in 1821 How might Ruiz’s social and personal context have shaped his thoughts on indigenous cultures? Ruiz’s activity among indigenous groups illustrates the complexity of relations between Mexicans and Indians. After the insurgent defeat in 1813, many rebel Tejanos fled northward out of Béxar and into the large part of the province occupied by indigenous peoples. This land, sometimes called Portrait of Francisco Ruiz. (UTSA’s Institute of Texan Cultures, No. 86-184, courtesy of Mrs. Ruby Hermes) 54 Indigenous Identities “Comanchería” by Mexicans after its most populous indigenous group, provided an anonymous and safe haven for rebels escaping the reach of the Spanish military. As an active Mexican insurgent, Ruiz lived among the Comanches for eight years until independence.3 Later, he used his connections to and knowledge of Comanches to serve as the Indian commissioner in Texas for the Mexican government. His ties to Comanche people might explain his harsh depiction of Apache people in his report, since Comanche groups were often at war with them. Reports coming back to Spanish officials in Béxarand to General Joaquín de Arredondo in Monterrey located Ruiz and other insurgents hiding out in the hinterlands around Nacogdoches in 1814.4 The Spanish government feared that these insurgents would unite with other rebels living in the United States or with indigenous tribes to mount another attack on the capital of Texas. While the reports never identified a new movement, they mentioned the commerce and treaties established between the northern groups, such as Comanches, and Ruiz and his fellow insurgents. Later descriptions of Comanche culture by Ruiz suggest that his relationship with them extended beyond trading, perhaps to include living in the Comanche camp for a lengthy time or even marrying into a Comanche family. Ruiz’s stayamong the Comanches contradicts general portrayals of them as wild, violent savages, intent on killing or enslaving any non-Comanche.5 The historical record, however, suggests a much more complex picture. Ruiz’s friendship with Comanches came not as an anomaly but as a result of an Indian policy initiated by the Crown in the eighteenth century and continued in effect by Bexareños. Ruiz’s actions during this period appear more significant after noting his status as one of two Tejano signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence in 1836 and later as a senator in the Texas Republic legislature. Born in Béxar in 1783, Ruiz cultivated relationships across cultures and nations, situating himself as a broker on the frontier. Ruiz’s success in this complex social world required a deep understanding of the cultural nuances existing among these peoples.Growing up in the frontier town of Béxar afforded Ruiz the opportunity to learn this rich context by example. Bexareños’ lives were immersed and embedded in a broader indigenous world. That world extended from the intimacy of intermarriage and mestizaje towars and the diplomacyof peace treaties with nomadic groups.6 While the meaning of the term indio differed, indigenous identification appeared almost everywhere...