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After 1840, the Quechan people near La Frontera returned to their original ways of religious practice as soon as the mission priests left and no one replaced them.

La Sierra de las Pinta's
The Sierra de las Pintas was a mountain range that most Spanish expeditions would actively avoid. Spanish explorers were able to see the range, but avoided exploring due to the Quechan informing them that it was inhabitable and had no drinkable water sources.

When the Spanish had the Yumans guide them through the Sierra de las Pintas, they would take the Spanish to an area with little to no water in order to discourage further exploration.

The Spanish later on attempted to explore the mountain range, searching for water in creative ways. Explorers would follow herds of BigHorn Sheep up the mountain or by chance would find small patches of vegetation pointing toward a hidden water source.

The Yuma Route
The Yuma route was a trail that ran from Southern New Mexico and reached Chihuahua and Sonora. The trail branched out even further to reach the Los Angeles Basin, San Diego, Colorado River and the Gila River. This route was well established before the arrival of the Spanish, and used as a trade route amongst the tribes of the areas.

At first, the Spanish used minor portions of the trail. It was not until San Diego and Monterey were established that they needed a more reliable and faster path. The path was first walked by Sebastian Taraval, a Cochimi indigenous who fled from San Gabriel. Sebastian was then followed by Captain Juan Bautista de Anza. Anza was only able to follow Sebatian to the Imperial Valley Kamia village, where he lost Sebastian and was forced to reach the Quechuan people on his own.

Language
The Quechan tribe in partnership with linguists, have created a fully detailed language guide. This guide includes sections about their alphabet along with the different words for actions, animals, the body, colors, directions, family and friends, house, money, nature and the environment, numbers, place names, plants, time, and shapes.

Population
As of 2023, there are about 4,000 active members of the tribe living on or near the reservation.

History
Once the initial contact had been made, The Quechan people seemed inviting toward Juan Bautista de Anza. He promised them to set up a mission where all people would live together instead of in a hierarchy. Alongside the promise, de Anza gave Palma’s people horses, steel weapons, clothes, and iron as a token of allegiance.

This allegiance would soon sour as the bureaucracy of the Spanish Empire would cause major delays to the construction of the missions. When the Spanish’s first gifts arrived in 1780, they would be more of a bad omen than a sign of friendship as the livestock being herded to them would go and trample most of if not all the Quechan’s crops. That year there was severe lack of rain thus forcing the Quechan to raid another nearby tribe known as the Maricopa.

The following year, two high members of the tribe were arrested for allegedly plotting to assassinate a high-ranking officer. One of the natives was placed in stocks to humiliate them and this caused Palma to finally turn his back on the Spanish.