Lucía Martínez (Woolsey) (1854–1900)[1] was a woman of Yaqui descent who was the first Indigenous women to file a legal challenge against an Arizona statesman.
[3] Martínez gave birth to 3 of Woolsey's biological children and following his marriage to Mary H. Taylor in 1871, lost custody of her two eldest daughters.
After Woolsey's death in 1879, Martínez was granted custody again and took further legal action in an attempt to receive an inheritance for her children.
Sonora was considered a peaceful community during the mid-19th century, but as the Mexican war for independence took place, the Sonoran government began to crumble.
This allowed for Woolsey to take advantage of Lucía; he demanded her to work on his ranch and serve as his mistress with no opportunity to testify against him.
However, a contract was signed stating that the two girls would be indentured servants to their father until the age of 18 under the agreement that Woolsey would provide all basic necessities.
[6] They also took their father's surname which provided them social acceptance and in 1880 Lucía claimed herself and her children to be Mexican under the census to avoid discrimination under the Howell Code and claimed herself to be a widow, they were listed as "white," following the legal standard of white status granted to Mexican nationals after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.