Struggling for autonomy and self-sufficiency, the Traditional Council of the
seven tribes of Sonora, Mexico appointed a
Tucson Human Rights activist as their new
voice in the United States.
"Maria Garcia is the spirit of the council,"
said Lorenzo Garcia, Yaqui from the village
of Bacum, Mexico and director of the
Consejo Tradicional of the Pueblos Indios
(Traditional Council of the Indigenous
Pueblos).
Maria Garcia, Tarasca, said the tribes in
Sonora are fighting for their land, natural
resources and their lives. The Mexican
government has not entered negotiations in
good faith. "The People have reached the
point where enough is enough," said Garcia,
sounding a cry voiced earlier in Chiapas.
Continuing, Garcia said, "The Mexico
government makes a lot of promises to the
indigenous People. But they have no medical
facilities, no doctors and nurses. They are
left completely alone and isolated. They
travel on foot. When they are sick, they
suffer."
Recently, tribal governors gathered in the
Seri (Konka'ak) village of Punta Chueca,
Mexico. Non-Indians illegally fish Seri
waters in the Gulf of California and steal
ironwood from their desert land. Mexicans
use the dense wood to produce imitation
Seri carvings which reduces Seri revenues.
Their homeland of Tiburon Island,
designated a nature reserve by the Mexican
government is patrolled by Mexican
Marines. Seri are not allowed to live on the
island.
Meanwhile, the Traditional Council
negotiates directly with the Mexican
government in Hermosillo.
"The Mexican government patronizes the
indigenous People in Mexico and treats
them like children," Garcia said.
Ed. Note: Our family has direct
experience of the intensity of opposition
between the government and these
indigenous People, They are our friends
and we have seen their suffering, The
above article barely touches on the pain,
suffering and neglect experienced by
these People, The children suffer the
most, deprived of higher education and
hope, Their eyes light up when offered a
new pencil, some food or a toy, the
simplest things that we all take for
granted, There are no doctors to treat an
infected foot or to fix a painful tooth,
They simply suffer. Most of the middle-aged people have only little nubs of teeth
left, for there are no dentists, Just a few
miles south of the border, there is misery
on a scale to dwarf anything in the United
States, except perhaps in certain remote
areas of American Native reservations,
The Mexican government is hoping these
tribes will migrate north to the U.S, as
many already have and refuse to treat
them as citizens. Truly, they have no
country, only themselves. Their status is
comparable to the situation in the U.S. in
the 1870's when treaties and agreements
were only made as delay tactics with the
ultimate aim being the eventual acquisition
indigenous land claims.
When we visit our friends, it is like going
back in time 150 years. There are no
optometrists, dentists or doctors ... only
poverty and suffering. We take what we
can to them, but the roads are patrolled by
military vehicles full of young soldiers
brandishing semiautomatic weapons and
the air fairly bristles with confrontation.
One of their purposes is to intercept drug
traffickers, but a veiled threat against any
attempt at self-government is always
present. We have been told that they are
attempting to stop people from helping
them, but we have never been stopped.
I'd rather wake up
In the middle of nowhere
than in any city on earth
-Steve McQueen
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