MODERN DAY INDIGENOUS FARMING AND RANCHING

Since its introduction to our lands, animal husbandry has been an integral part of Indigenous life — though how it manifests varies widely. In many communities in southern Mexico, for example, families may keep only a few head of cattle or sheep, as most of their sustenance is farmed or gathered from the surrounding landscape. As we move north, where water becomes scarce, agriculture takes a back seat to ranching, which becomes more prolific.

This is especially true across much of northern Mexico, where ranchero culture is deeply woven into daily life. Although many norteños today may not identify as Indigenous — or may not even remember their Indigenous ancestry — for all intents and purposes, that is who they are. Much of the north is the product of rural Indigenous communities who adapted to a changing world and assimilated into what would become mainstream Mexican culture. Yet, assimilation never erases everything – people always kept pieces of who they used to be.

For instance, en el estado de Sonora, many rural communities still use Opata words — from an Indigenous Sonoran language and people — mixed into their Spanish, alongside Nahuatl-derived words common to all Mexican dialects. The same is true for countless other regional communities throughout the north, where remnants of Indigenous language and culture persist.

The herding does not end at borders, because the borders themselves are a kind of wandering fence, a line drawn across the back of the land, but the animals do not know this line. Further north, many Native American groups continue practicing animal husbandry in the form of cattle and sheep ranching. The Diné (Navajo) of northern Arizona and New Mexico are well known for raising a special kind of Churro sheep, originally brought by Spanish settlers. Notably, many Tewa and Tiwa people still keep sheep and use sheep products in a variety of ways: using their wool for weaving, meat for food, and dung for firing pottery. In fact, Indigenous groups throughout the United States have embraced cattle ranching, following in the footsteps of norteños and creating their own ranching traditions.

At the same time, Indigenous engagement with animal husbandry is taking on new forms, especially in the United States. For instance, many native people from Peru and Chile are obtaining special visas which allow them to come to the United States for the expressed purpose of shepherding. Ancestrally adapted to highland climates, these natives are often sent to mountainous regions like Montana and northern Nevada, where their skills make them highly sought after by American ranchers. Yet, while these natives work as kin to the sheep, they are paid like strangers. They are typically paid far less than American citizens, there is a racial power dynamic at play here — as most ranch owners are Anglo-American.

We have always lived with animals - in their eyes, we see the reflection of our own becoming. The history of animal husbandry in Indigenous America is long and complex, and we are always expanding our knowledge of the topic. Yet the more we look back, the more we see that life with animals is central to the retribalization of our everyday lives. Our relationship with the animal world has always held deep spiritual significance to our peoples, acting as a bridge to the natural world — a portal to a more wholesome, less consumer-driven way of living.