Genízaro

Genízaros were Native American and Hispanos of New Mexico who served as slaves, house servants, shepherds, and in other capacities, throughout what is today the Southwest United States well into the 1880s. By the late 18th century, the Genízaros and their descendants, who were often referred to as Coyotes, comprised nearly one-third of the entire population of New Mexico. In 2007 the Genízaros and their contemporary descendants were recognized as indigenous people by the New Mexico Legislature. Today, they comprise much of the population of the South Valley of Albuquerque, and significant portions of the population of Northern New Mexico Including Espanola, Taos, Santa Fe, and Las Vegas in Eastern New Mexico.

Genízaro is a Spanish word, borrowed from the Italian word giannizzero, itself adopted from the Ottoman Turkish word yeniçeri. This referred to slaves who were trained as soldiers for the Ottoman Empire. The Turkish word was also adopted into English as janissary.

In New Mexico, the term genízaro was used to describe Native American and Hispano slaves and servants. It also was used to describe many Puebloan peoples and Hispano mestizos who were living in the Spanish settlements such as Santa Fe, Santa Cruz, Albuquerque, and Belen.

Beginning in 1692, young Indian captives were sold into slavery in New Mexico. Many of the captives complained of mistreatment and were settled in land grants on the periphery of Spanish settlements according to a policy established by the Governors. These settlements became buffer communities for larger Spanish towns in the event of attack by enemy tribes surrounding the province.[6] The following description from the 1740s of the Tome-Valencia settlements by a Spanish religious official, Fray Menchero, provides insight as to the politics of the settlement of Genízaros on land grants:

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