Originally inhabitants of much of the state of Chihuahua, the Tarahumara retreated to Copper Canyon in the Sierra Tarahumara on the arrival of Spanish explorers in the sixteenth century.
Current estimates put the population of the Tarahumara in 2003 at between 50,000 and 70,000 people. Most still practice a traditional lifestyle, inhabiting natural shelters such as caves or cliff overhangs, as well as small cabins of wood or stone. Staple crops are corn and beans; and goats and cattle are also raised for food.
With widely dispersed settlements, the people have developed a tradition of long-distance running for intervillage communication and transportation. Their word for themselves, Raramuri, means runners in their native tongue.
The Tarahumara language is in the Uto-Aztecan family. Although it is in decline, with pressure from Spanish, it is still widely spoken.