The Sijame were an

Indigenous people of the Americas In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

of the

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, 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 List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

region. Some historians believe they were a band of

Tonkawa The Tonkawa are a Native American tribe from Oklahoma and Texas. Their Tonkawa language, now extinct language, extinct, is a linguistic isolate. Today, Tonkawa people are enrolled in the Federally recognized tribes, federally recognized Tonkawa ...

, but they were likely a

Coahuiltecan people The Coahuiltecan were various small, autonomous bands of Native Americans who inhabited the Rio Grande valley in what is now northeastern Mexico and southern Texas. The various Coahuiltecan groups were hunter gatherers. First encountered by the ...

Name

The name ''Sijame'' translates as "fish" and has also been written as Cijame, Hijame, Xixame, and Zihame.

History

Spanish colonists recorded the Sijame visiting the Santo Nombre de Jesus de Peyotes Mission in 1698. The Xarame likely originated between the

Nueces River The Nueces River ( ; , ) is a river in the U.S. state of Texas, about long. It drains a region in central and southern Texas southeastward into the Gulf of Mexico. It is the southernmost major river in Texas northeast of the Rio Grande. ''Nu ...

and 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 ...

in the

Edwards Plateau The Edwards Plateau is a geographic region forming the crossroads of Central, South and West Texas, United States. It is named in honor of Haden Edwards. It is bounded by the Balcones Fault to the south and east; the Llano Uplift and the Lla ...

. In 1699,

Spanish colonists Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern and ...

founded San Juan Bautista Mission in

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 ...

to convert four Coahuiltecan bands, including the Xarame. The Spanish established another mission near present-day

Eagle Pass, Texas Eagle Pass is a city in and the county seat of Maverick County, Texas, United States. Its population was 28,130 as of the 2020 census. Eagle Pass borders the city of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, which is to the southwest and across the ...

, and some Xarame moved there. Others moved to the San Francisco Solano Mission in Coahuila, founded in 1700. In 1709, Sijame lived by

San Pedro Springs San Pedro Springs is the name of a cluster of springs in Bexar County, Texas, United States. These springs provide water for San Pedro Creek, which flows into the San Antonio River. The San Antonio Springs also feed into the San Antonio River. ...

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 ...

. The San Antonio de Valero mission mentioned the Xarame as late as 1776.

References

{{authority control Coahuiltecan Extinct Native American tribes Extinct Indigenous peoples in Mexico Pre-statehood history of Texas Native American tribes in Texas