The Huichol and The Sacred Desert

 

Written by: Joseph Rector


https://artoftheindians.wordpress.com/huichol-culture/


The Huichol are Indigenous people from the Western Sierra Madre mountain range in Mexico. The Huichol territory is in the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Zacatecas, Durango, and San Luis Potosi (Liffman 2014). Over time the Huichol have seen their land shrink. There have been people trying to take land from and destroy the culture of the Huichol throughout history. Originally it was the Spanish colonists and missionaries who invaded the land to exploit resources and spread Christianity. Today, it is the Mexican government on behalf of various industries. Despite these challenges the tribe has managed to hold on to portions of their land and maintain much of the historical cultural and religious practices that have gone on for thousands of years.

The Huichol beliefs and spiritual practices are strongly tied to the plants, animals, and land that surround them. Some of the many elements from the Huichol environment that play a major role in the Huichol religion are deer, maize, peyote, and the natural springs of the area. (Arcos and Chavez 1999). Every year the Huichol make a 300-mile pilgrimage to Wirikuta, the mountain where the sun was born, through the desert mountains of central Mexico. This pilgrimage culminates in a peyote hunt in which the Huichol eat a piece of the first peyote cactus they find, collect enough peyote for the year, and then eat more peyote until they experience visions (ARTOFTHEINDIANS.COM n.d.). The Huichol believe that this pilgrimage is essential to maintain their existence. The journey is a way to heal themselves and communicate with their gods (T. Barnett 2018).

The peyote hunt is a major part of the Huichol’s religion, but it is not the only tie they have to the land that they inhabit. Huichols believe that their Gods live within the landscape around them, and that they have transformed themselves into the mountains, springs, and native animal species. Sustenance farming is also essential to the Huichol way of life. Corn, squash, and beans are staples of the Huichol diet. The Huichol believe that they are intertwined with the land. It is part of their physical and spiritual wellbeing.

In recent years the Huichol’s land has come under attack by various business interests. The threats to sacred Huichol land include mining, large scale agriculture businesses, peyote tourism, narcotics trafficking, hazardous waste disposal, and wind farming. In 2009 the Mexican government granted 36 mining concessions to the Canadian mining company First Majestic Silver (Palma 2013). Most of these concessions were within the Wirikuta area. Mining is an extremely destructive process. In addition to the damage of the physical landscape through soil erosion and destruction of plants and animals, there are issues with water usage and pollution. A mine can use as much water in one day as a rural family would use in twenty years (T. Barnett 2018). The Huichol fear that the natural springs of the mountains will dry up. There are also the byproducts of mining called tailings. These tailings contain toxins such as lead, arsenic, and mercury. If these poisons are introduced to the mountain springs, they will eventually contaminate the groundwater and ruin the springs that Huichol hold sacred.

While the Huichol tribe does not support mining on their sacred lands, there are other people that live in the nearby communities who do support the mining. After all, there is a history of mining in this part of Mexico.  In the 1700s there were silver mines throughout the Wirikuta area (T. Barnett 2021). Like many rural communities in Mexico this area is incredibly impoverished. The mining companies come with the promise of jobs and economic prosperity for people who desperately need it. First Majestic has started a public image campaign with the purpose of improving the perception of the proposed mining operations. Mining representatives show up to community meetings to advocate for their projects while highlighting the history of mining in the area and the economic benefits (T. Barnett 2021).   

The concessions granted to First Majestic Silver caused the various groups of Huichols to band together and fight back against the seizure of their sacred lands. The goal is to educate the public and win support for their cause. In addition to the Huichol, there were protests all over the country of Mexico in supporting the tribe. In October of 2011 there was a march that included hundreds of Huichol people for four hours throughout Mexico City (Cultural Survival n.d.). Only one month earlier the Mexican government had granted another mining concession to the Canadian mining company West Timmins Mining for an open pit gold mine on Wirikuta land (Cultural Survival n.d.). Within a year of the march the Mexican federal court suspended all the mining concessions within the Wirikuta reserve. This suspension is to remain in place until the issues between the Huichol and the mining companies can be resolved (Cultural Survival 2012).

Today the sacred land of the Huichol is still threatened despite the court order delaying new mining concessions. The mining companies continue to lobby for public support. These companies have incredibly deep pockets. With the financial resources available to the mining companies the court case could still be overturned. In addition to public support and expensive legal battles, the companies are free to make political donations that can influence Mexican government officials. If the public is swayed to the side of the mining interests, then the Huichol land may be doomed.



Sources:

Arcos, Angeles, and Carlos Chavez. 1999. The Wixaritari Today. Cambridge, March. https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/wixaritari-today.

ARTOFTHEINDIANS.COM. n.d. Huichol Culture: Mexican Art from Visions. https://artoftheindians.wordpress.com/huichol-culture/.

Barnett, Tracey. 2021. Defending the Birthplace of the Sun. January 13. https://www.resilience.org/stories/2021-01-13/defending-the-birthplace-of-the-sun/.

Barnett, Tracy. 2018. Wixárika Medicine Under Seige. Winnipeg, May 28. https://intercontinentalcry.org/wixarika-medicine-under-siege/.

Cultural Survival. n.d. Campaign Update - Mexico: Huicholes March to President's Residence. Cambridge. https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/campaign-update-mexico-huicholes-march-presidents-residence.

Cultural Survival. 2012. Good News – Mexico Campaign: Federal Court Suspends Mining in Wirikuta. Cambridge, March 1. https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/good-news-mexico-campaign-federal-court-suspends-mining-wirikuta.

Liffman, Paul. 2014. Huichol Territory and the Mexican Nation: Indigenous Ritual, Land Conflict, and Sovereignty Claims. Tucson. https://uapress.arizona.edu/book/huichol-territory-and-the-mexican-nation.

Palma, Lilian. 2013. A struggle for sacred land: the case of Wirikuta. London, September 26. https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/civilresistance/struggle-for-sacred-land-case-of-wirikuta/.

Sacred Sites International Foundation. n.d. Wirikuta Mountain/Cerro Quemado. https://sacred-sites.org/threatened-sacred-sites/wirikuta-mountain-cerro-quemado/.


 

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