Tomoacas people
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The Tomoacas (sometimes spelled "Omotomoacos", "Amotomanco," "Otomacos," or "Otomoaco") were an Indigenous people who lived in the region known as present-day southwest Texas.[1] The Tomoacas are believed to have been affiliated with the Jumanos.[2]
History
[edit]In the 1500s, the Tomoacas and Jumanos were main tribes in the area of western Texas that is now Big Bend Ranch State Park western Texas.[3][4][5] In 1583, early Spanish explorers (including Antonio de Espejo) encountered the Tomoacas at La Junta de los Ríos,[6] a regional hub of Indigenous settlement and agriculture.[7][8][9] Spanish chroniclers described the Tomoacas as wearing only well-tanned buffalo hides for clothing, and as skilled bow-and-arrow hunters of the buffalo.[8]
The Tomoacas were believed to have spoken a variation of Nahuatl (an Aztecan language).[4][10] They and their neighbors were collectively termed "Patarabueyes" by Spaniards, indicating they were seen as a confederation of closely allied peoples.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ French, Laurence Armand; Manzanarez, Magdaleno (2017-01-06). North American Border Conflicts: Race, Politics, and Ethics. CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-351-99851-2.
- ^ Campbell, Thomas N. (1976). Patarabueye Indians. Texas Almanac.
- ^ "Big Bend Ranch State Park". PeakVisor. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
- ^ a b Barnes, Randy L. (2019). Facts of Truths Concerning the Demise of the Original Inhabitant Nations of Texas. Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
- ^ Schmal, John. "The Indigenous Groups Along the Lower Rio Grande". Indigenous Mexico. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
- ^ A Sampling of Archeological Resources in Big Bend National Park, Texas (PDF). Center for Big Bend Studies. 2022. p. 143.
- ^ "At Big Bend Ranch, Archeology Reveals Region's Cosmopolitan Past". Marfa Public Radio. 2016-12-08. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
- ^ a b c Schroeder, Eric Austin (2013). The Jumano in the First Century of Colonial Contact: Ethnohistoric and Archaeological Perspectives. The University of Texas at Austin.
- ^ "Big Bend NP: Administrative History (Chapter 1)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
- ^ "La Junta de los Rios". www.texasbeyondhistory.net. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
| Federally recognized tribes | |
|---|---|
| Indigenous languages | |
| Historical Indigenous peoples of Texas (Several are in Oklahoma today) |
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| Related topics | |
† extinct language / ≠ extinct tribe / >< early, obsolete name of Indigenous tribe / ° people absorbed into other tribe(s) / * headquartered in Oklahoma today | |
