Ysleta is a community in El Paso, Texas, United States. Ysleta was settled between October 9 and October 12, 1680, when Spanish conquistadors, Franciscan clerics and Tigua Indians took refuge along the southern bank of the Rio Grande. These people were fleeing the Pueblo Revolt in New Mexico. Ysleta is the oldest European settlement in the area that is the present-day U.S. state of Texas.

History

Settlement

Antonio de Otermín, the Spanish Governor, placed Fray Francisco de Ayeta as administrator of the refugee camp of those fleeing Popé's rebellion in 1680.

Resettlement

The settlement and associated mission moved several times over the next few hundred years. In 1691, the original refugee mission was replaced by an adobe structure. A flood in 1740 washed away that mission. It was rebuilt on higher ground four years later. The Tigua (i.e. Tiwa people) of Ysleta were among the most faithful Christian converts in the area and the Spanish were keen to keep the settlement healthy and vibrant. In the period between 1829 and 1831, the river moved much further south than usual. In 1836, the new country of Texas claimed the new channel of the Rio Grande as the boundary. In 1848, with the ratification of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Ysleta was ceded to the United States. In 1916, the Rio Grande was dammed and the area was heavily irrigated. The resulting rise in the water table brought salt to the surface and the land became suitable for only salt-tolerant crops such as cotton.

Annexation

In 1955, El Paso annexed Ysleta, although residents voted against the change. Ysleta was allowed to keep its own school district (Ysleta Independent School District, which extends from the lower Valley into parts of Northeast El Paso), although that required an appeal to the Supreme Court.

Tiwa Revival

In the 1960s, Tom Diamond sued on the behalf of the Tiwa (known as the Tigua tribe in Spanish). The state of Texas was reluctant to recognize any Native American tribes, but in 1967 the Tiguas were formed legally as the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo. The next year, the United States Congress also recognized the tribe.

The El Paso Public Library operates the Sergio Troncoso Branch in Ysleta.

References

  • https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/uqc03
  • https://web.archive.org/web/20070201211854/http://ysletamission.org/site/
  • https://web.archive.org/web/20070203222707/http://co.el-paso.tx.us/courthouse/
  • http://www.clayhound.us/sites/ysleta.htm
  • nps.gov
  • https://texasalmanac.com/topics/history/franciscan-missionaries-texas-1690-0
  • Tigua Indians Survive 300 Years of Ordeals
  • https://web.archive.org/web/20140122141011/http://news.msn.com/in-depth/disenrollment-leaves-natives-culturally-homeless