Since the Spanish colonization, the North and Bajio regions of Mexico have had lower percentages of Indigenous peoples, but some notable groups include the Rarámuri, the Tepehuán, the Yaquis, and the Yoreme.

[16] According to the National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Data Processing (INEGI), approximately 5.4% of the population speaks an indigenous language.

[21][22] Mesoamerica was densely populated by diverse Indigenous ethnic groups[20][page needed][23] which, although sharing common cultural characteristics, spoke different languages and developed unique civilizations.

The routes stretched far into Mesoamerica and reached as far north as ancient communities that included such population centers in the United States such as Snaketown,[26] Chaco Canyon, and Ridge Ruin near Flagstaff (considered some of the finest artifacts ever located).

[20][page needed] During the conquest of the Aztec Empire, the Spanish conquistadors allied with other ethnic groups in the region, including the Tlaxcaltecs.

This system was built upon pre-existing Mesoamerican labor duty and tribute practices, with indigenous officials managing its continuation within their communities.

There was a precipitous decline in indigenous populations, mainly due to the spread of European diseases previously unknown in the Americas but also through war and forced labor.

[citation needed] Mendicants of the Franciscan, Dominican, and Augustinian orders initially evangelized Indigenous in their communities in what is often called the "spiritual conquest."

[35] On the northern frontiers, the Spanish created missions and settled Indigenous populations in these complexes, which prompted raids from those who resisted settlement (given the name Indios Bárbaros).

During the early colonial era in central Mexico, indigenous communities faced the imposition of Spanish rule, which prioritized exploiting their labor over seizing their land.

The institution of the encomienda, a crown grant of the labor of indigenous communities to conquerors, was a key element of the imposition of Spanish rule.

Through the repartimiento, indigenous peoples were obligated to perform low-paid labor for a certain number of weeks or months on Spanish enterprises, notably silver mining.

[39] Indigenous people use collective property so that the services as mentioned earlier that the land provides are available to the entire community and future generations.

The degree to which racial category labels had legal and social consequences has been subject to academic debate since the idea of a "caste system" was developed by Ángel Rosenblat and Gonzalo Aguirre Beltrán in the 1940s.

However, recent academic studies have challenged this notion, considering it a flawed and ideologically based reinterpretation of the colonial period.

White Mexicans argued about what the solution was to the "Indian Problem," that is, Indigenous who continued to live in communities and were not integrated politically or socially as citizens of the new republic.

[46] In the North of Mexico, indigenous peoples, such as the Comanche and Apache, who had acquired the horse, waged a successful warfare against the Mexican state.

[49] Several prominent artists promoted the "Indigenous Sentiment" (sentimiento indigenista) of the country, including Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

In Los Angeles, for example, the Mexican government has established electronic access to some of the consular services provided in Spanish as well as Zapotec and Mixe.

[54] The Chiapas conflict of 1994 led to collaboration between the Mexican government and the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, a libertarian socialist indigenous political group.

The second article of the Constitution was modified to include the right of self-determination and requires state governments to promote and ensure the economic development of indigenous communities and preserve their languages and traditions.

These reforms sought to create a national identity not linked to racial or ethnic distinctions, impacting the legal protections previously afforded to Indigenous communities.

[65] The Chiapas conflict of 1994 led to collaboration between the Mexican government and the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, an Indigenous political group.

[65] In 2001, the second article of the constitution of Mexico was changed to recognize and enforce the right of indigenous peoples and communities to self-determination and, therefore, their autonomy to preserve and enrich their language, knowledge, and every part of their culture and identity.

[68] The Mexican government's increased militarization of indigenous areas has made women more susceptible to harassment through military abuses.

Conditional cash transfer programs such as Oportunidades have been used to encourage indigenous women to seek formal health care.

[16] According to the National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Data Processing (INEGI), approximately 6.7% of the population speaks an indigenous language.

With this new approach, it was determined that 6,913,362 people three or older spoke an indigenous language (218,000 children 3 and 4 four years of age fell into this category), accounting for 6.6% of the total population.

[79][80] Most Indigenous communities have a degree of financial and political autonomy under the legislation of "usos y costumbres," which allows them to regulate internal issues under customary law.

According to the CDI, the states with the greatest percentage of indigenous population as of 2020 according to INEGI are:[77][79][80][85][86] The indigenous Mexicans (and other 'Amerindian' or 'Native American' peoples) originated from a lineage that diverged from Ancient East Asians around 36,000 years ago and subsequently merged with a Paleolithic Siberian population known as Ancient North Eurasians.