The Churra (also known as ''Spanish Churro'')
is an ancient
Iberian breed of
sheep from
Zamora province in
Castile and León
Castile and León ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain.
It was created in 1983, eight years after the end of the Francoist regime, by the merging of the ...
. The ewes produce the milk for Zamorana cheese; the meat is also prized.
The Churra (renamed "churro" by American frontiersmen) was first imported to North America in the 16th century and used to feed Spanish armies and settlers. By the 17th Century, churras were popular with the Spanish settlers in the upper Rio Grande Valley. Flocks of churras were also acquired by
Navajo
The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States.
With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...
through raids and trading, and soon became an important part of their economy and culture.
In the early 1900s, the
United States federal government decided that other breeds would be better for reservation life and a program of out-breeding nearly caused the churra sheep to go extinct. People concerned with quality of wool and the history and culture of the Navajo are making an effort to save the breed.
advises not to mix ''churras'' and ''
merinas'', i.e., not to confuse different concepts.
See also
*
Navajo-Churro sheep
References
{{reflist
Sheep breeds originating in Spain
Sheep breeds