A group of fishing families from Guerrero Negro visited the Baja California Sur Congress this month to demand formal recognition as descendants of the Cochimí, one of three Indigenous peoples who inhabited the peninsula for thousands of years before Spanish colonization. The group, known as the “Patas Saladas” movement, submitted genealogical records, territorial maps, birth certificates, and a proposed decree to state legislator Sergio Huerta Leggs. They also filed requests with INPI, Mexico’s National Institute of Indigenous Peoples, for an anthropological assessment of their community’s ties to the Cochimí.
Cochimí, Guaycura, and Pericú Peoples Were Nearly Erased During the Mission Era
The Cochimí once occupied the largest territory of any Indigenous group on the Baja California peninsula. Their homeland stretched roughly from the central desert near present-day El Rosario south to the area around Loreto, covering hundreds of miles of arid coastline and interior mountains. Two other groups, the Guaycura in the cape region and the Pericú at the peninsula’s southern tip, held adjacent territories. Together, these three peoples are estimated to have numbered between 40,000 and 60,000 at the time of first European contact in the 16th century.
The Jesuit missions that began arriving in 1697, starting with Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto, brought devastating change. Smallpox, measles, syphilis, and typhus swept through communities with no prior exposure. Forced relocation to mission settlements concentrated survivors in conditions that accelerated disease spread. By the time the Jesuits were expelled from New Spain in 1768, the Indigenous population of the peninsula had collapsed by an estimated 90%. The Pericú were functionally extinct by the late 18th century. The Guaycura followed soon after. The Cochimí survived in scattered remnants, primarily in the remote desert north.
By the 20th century, official Mexican census data listed no surviving Cochimí speakers. The Mexican government long treated the peninsula’s original peoples as historically extinct. But families in isolated fishing communities along the Pacific coast, particularly around the Ojo de Liebre lagoon complex near Guerrero Negro, maintained oral traditions and kinship networks they trace to Cochimí ancestors.
The “Patas Saladas” Claim Over 500 Descendants Tied to Guerrero Negro
The “Patas Saladas” (“Salty Feet”) movement takes its name from practices tied to the salt flats and lagoons around Guerrero Negro. The town sits beside one of the world’s largest salt-producing operations, run by Exportadora de Sal, a joint venture between the Mexican government and Mitsubishi. The community says their ancestors used salt from the lagoon complex for food preservation and subsistence fishing long before industrial extraction began.
Juana Villa Poblano, known within the group as “Mamá Tana,” serves as a traditional authority. Francisco Castillo Maclish was introduced as president of the community’s Council of Elders during the press conference at the BCS Congress. Other council members include Ramón Castillo Gómez, María del Rosario Fátima Castillo Camacho, and José Castillo Camacho. Jesús Alfredo Salgado Villa was identified as a lead organizer handling legal filings.
The group says it has identified 36 people directly linked to the original fishing families at the movement’s core. But compiled family trees, they claim, show more than 500 living descendants from a common ancestor. Their submitted documents include internal community regulations, genealogical charts, and official letters sent to state and municipal authorities about road access, land regularization, and rehabilitation of fishing infrastructure.
INPI Recognition Could Unlock Land Rights and Federal Programs
Formal recognition through INPI carries concrete consequences. Under Mexico’s constitutional framework, recognized Indigenous communities can access federal programs for housing, education, and health care designated for Indigenous peoples. They gain standing to assert territorial claims and communal land rights. For a fishing community, recognition could also strengthen claims to coastal access and cooperative fishing permits in federal waters.
The proposed decree submitted to the BCS Congress would guarantee recognition of Cochimí, Guaycura, and Pericú descendants at the state level. The Patas Saladas movement has also participated in INPI initiatives to form a State Indigenous and Afro-Mexican Council for Baja California Sur.
One recurring frustration, members told reporters, is that Indigenous affairs in BCS are still administered as though the state were an appendage of Baja California to the north. “They still consider us an extension of Baja California Norte,” the group stated. Baja California, the northern state, has federally recognized Indigenous communities including the Kumiai, Paipai, and Kiliwa peoples. BCS has none with the same formal status, a gap the Patas Saladas movement aims to close.
The anthropological assessment requested from INPI has no announced timeline. If the institute confirms genealogical and cultural ties, the findings could support both the federal recognition process and the state decree now before the BCS Congress. The story was originally reported by Diario El Independiente.