The Geier Indians or Geies were an 18th-century group of

Indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

in what became Mexico and the United States. Little is known about this group.

17th century

In 1675, a Native group, recorded as the Papuliquier (a combination of the names Pacpul and Geier) visited a Spanish town of

Monclova Monclova (), is a city and the seat of the surrounding municipality of the same name in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila. According to the 2015 census, the city had 231,107 inhabitants. Its metropolitan area has 381,432 inhabitants and ...

Coahuila Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, is one of the 31 states of Mexico. The largest city and State Capital is the city of Saltillo; the second largest is Torreón and the thi ...

. The

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

priest

Damián Massanet Damián Massanet was a Spanish Franciscan priest who co-founded the College of Santa Cruz de Querétaro, the first missionary college in New Spain. Biography Not much is known of Massanet's early life, but he is trusted to have been born in Maj ...

wrote that the Geier and five other Native groups had camped along the

Frio River The Frio River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas. The word ''frío'' is Spanish for ''cold'', a clear reference to the spring-fed coolness of the river. Variant names According to the Geographic Names Information System, it has also been ...

, near

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

in 1690.

18th century

The Geier were last mentioned in 1708, while they were still living in the Frio River valley. They did not join any of the Spanish missions.

Language

Damián Massanet reported that the Geier spoke the Coahuiltecan language.

References

Coahuiltecan Frio County, Texas Extinct Indigenous peoples in Mexico Extinct Native American tribes Native American history of Texas Pre-statehood history of Texas {{Texas-stub