We are a group comprised of the Wixarika People, along with organizations and citizens who are joining forces with them in favor of the preservation of the Sacred Site of Wirikuta, the Sierra of Catorce and its inhabitants.

THE NATIONAL MINING RESERVE WILL NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF MINING AND AGROINDUSTRIAL CONCESSIONS IN WIRIKUTA

THE NATIONAL MINING RESERVE WILL NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF MINING AND AGROINDUSTRIAL CONCESSIONS IN WIRIKUTA

RECENT ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL MINING RESERVE WILL NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF MINING AND AGROINDUSTRIAL CONCESSIONS IN WIRIKUTA The Wirikuta Defense Front – Tamatsima Wahaa, given the recent announcements that the Federal Government has released as measures for the protection Wirikuta, declare...
Press Release by the Wixárika Regional Council

Press Release by the Wixárika Regional Council

PRESS RELEASE *On the eve of the Wirikuta Fest concert, the government’s announcement for the protection of Wirikuta is considered by Wixárika authorities to be incomplete and filled with false information that distorts the reality of the sacred place. *Mining in the sacred territory of Wirikuta is not canceled. *First...
Press Conference - The Regional Council Wixárika

Press Conference – The Regional Council Wixárika

Mexico City, May 24, 2012. For the editors, reporters and columnists in the national and international media and the general public. The Regional Council Wixárika through The Wirikuta Defense Front – Tamatsima Wahaa has the honor to invite you to the Press Conference which will take place at the Human...
The words of our deities

The words of our deities

In the coming weeks we will have English subtitles. Now we share the English text with the intention to know the message of the deities Good morning to all those present who hear me. I am going to relate the words of our deities, who flourished during last night’s chant. Tatewari Tutsi (the Grandfather of the Fire) speaks...
On the Conventions for the protection of Cultural and Natural Heritage and of Intangible Cultural Heritage by  UNESCO

On the Conventions for the protection of Cultural and Natural Heritage and of Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO

The territory of Wirikuta, considered Natural and Cultural Reserve of Wirikuta with more than 350,000 acres, since 2004 is in the tentative list to become World Cultural and Natural Heritage Site of UNESCO. This protection, established by the “Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage of UNESCO”, is...
Mining and the Huichol Ancestral Landscape

Mining and the Huichol Ancestral Landscape

In the last year, author Paul M. Liffman has provided comments about the Wixarika (Huichol) people’s fight for cultural rights and a ban on large-scale silver mining near their principal sacred sites to the southwest of the historic town of Real de Catorce in the state of San Luis Potosí, Mexico....
Documentaries about the Wixarika culture and the defense of Wirikuta in the National Museum of the American Indian, New York

Documentaries about the Wixarika culture and the defense of Wirikuta in the National Museum of the American Indian, New York

The Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, in cooperation with Cinema Tropical and the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York, presents At the Movies: Huichol Journeys Thursday, March 29, 6:00 pm Saturday, March 31, 2:00 pm Auditorium, George Gustav Heye Center National Museum of the American Indian  One Bowling Green, New...
The judiciary grants the Wixarika people a suspension to detain mineral exploitation by the La Luz project in the Catorce municipality of San Luis Potosí

The judiciary grants the Wixarika people a suspension to detain mineral exploitation by the La Luz project in the Catorce municipality of San Luis Potosí

* No permit may be granted as long as the core of the matter remains unresolved * The intention to exploit natural resources through 38 mineral concessions in the sacred territory of Wirikuta is suspended. Feb. 26, 2012 The federal courts have definitively granted the suspension of the  violations claimed...
Wirikuta Statement

Wirikuta Statement

  San Luis Potosi, Real de Catorce “Wirikuta” on  February  7,  2012   Brothers and sisters from the states of Durango, Jalisco and Nayarit of the following ceremonial centers and communities: Santa Catarina, Pochotita, Las Latas, San Sebastian, San Andres Cohamiata, Ocota de la Sierra, Tuxpan de Bolaños, las Guayabas, Cohamiata,...
A Survey on Wixárika Tradition

A Survey on Wixárika Tradition

To the Native Peoples of Mexico and the world To Mexican an Worldwide Civil Society To the Media To the General Public   A Survey on Wixárika Tradition   Period: February 1st to 10th, 2012. Today the People Wixárika gladly welcomes you to the sacred land of Wirikuta, the heart...
Protection for Indigenous Peoples and Environment. The CNDH requests cautionary measures to protect Sacred Huichol Area in SLP.

Protection for Indigenous Peoples and Environment. The CNDH requests cautionary measures to protect Sacred Huichol Area in SLP.

Mexico, Jan. 24 (Notimex).- The National Commission of Human Rights (CNDH) requested cautionary measures to preserve the natural reserve  and the Wixarika people facing the mining operations in Wirikuta, San Luis Potosi area, considered sacred. The organization asked the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa) and the National Water Commission...
The Vatican, the Huichol people and President Calderón

The Vatican, the Huichol people and President Calderón

  By: Lydia Cacho – January 12, 2012 Translated by Sol Levin What would the Vatican say if the French government decided to grant concessions for the exploitation of precious minerals in the sacred path each year thousands of pilgrims walk to Lourdes, where the spring water is considered holy...
Wirikuta: where the Sun rises. Interview with Tunuary Chávez (AJAGI), JALISCO

Wirikuta: where the Sun rises. Interview with Tunuary Chávez (AJAGI), JALISCO

Panoramic view of the Sierra de Real de Catorce in San Luis Potosí © Mercedes Aquino Ever since the creation of the Wixárika world, our heart, our life, and our ancestors are in Wirikuta. We make a pilgrimage every year to honor and make offerings to our ancestors, so that...
Famous Writers Petition Against Mexico Silver Mine

Famous Writers Petition Against Mexico Silver Mine

MEXICO CITY December 1, 2011 (Asociated Press) More than 150 internationally known writers and artists are urging Mexican President Felipe Calderon to cancel mining concessions in an area of northern Mexico considered sacred ground by the Huichol Indians. The list of petition signers released Thursday comprises a who’s who of...
What is Wirikuta?

What is Wirikuta?

Wirikuta is one of the most important natural sacred sites of the Wixárika (Huichol) indigenous people and the world. The Wixárika people live in the states of Jalisco, Nayarit and Durango and are recognized for having preserved their spiritual identity. They have continued to practice their cultural and religious traditions...
Activities carried out during the campaign “Save Wirikuta, the Sacred Heart of Mexico”

Activities carried out during the campaign “Save Wirikuta, the Sacred Heart of Mexico”

During the last days of October the Wixarika people performed a series of actions and demonstrations in defense of the Sacred Land of Wirikuta, during which thousands of people expressed their support for the preservation of this sacred area, one of the main indigenous prayer centers in the world and...
Letter to the President of Mexico – Save Wirikuta, Sacred Heart of Mexico – October 27th 2011

Letter to the President of Mexico – Save Wirikuta, Sacred Heart of Mexico – October 27th 2011

Mexico City, October 27th 2011 Felipe Calderon Hinojosa Constitutional President of the United Mexican States Present We are the Wixarika Nation. All our communities together. All the Wixaritari Communities agreed to come with you to demand urgent compliance with the following requests which are based on our constitutional rights and the word...
Cascabel and Golondrina; now Lake Shore Gold corp in Bernalejo, the heart of Wirikuta

Cascabel and Golondrina; now Lake Shore Gold corp in Bernalejo, the heart of Wirikuta

Once again Wirikuta…. now it’s not just First Majestic Silver Corp., who with the concessions it acquired for more than 6,000 hectares in the Sierra of Catorce plans to exploit silver reserves at the expense of the Wixarika people, the campesinos of the region, the environment and all of humanity....
A new threat to Wirikuta

A new threat to Wirikuta

In the community of Las Margaritas, municipality of Catorce, Virikuta, the mining company “Golondrina” – a subsidiary of the Canadian mining company “West Timmins Mining” based in Hermosillo, Sonora – is planning an open-pit gold mining project in the area called Kauyumaritsie. The veins of gold that the mining company...
Respect for Nature. Legacy of the ancestors Wixarika

Respect for Nature. Legacy of the ancestors Wixarika

Introduction The modern and ancient Indian thought is filled with images of respect for nature. The deep respect for life is beautifully expressed in the love for nature. As Wixaritari Indians we believe that every element of this territory (land, plants, animals, etc.) is sacred. We never forget Wimakame, our Mother Earth: “We are part of the Earth and the Earth is part of us. The flowers that smell in the air are...
UN Special Rapporteur Dialogues with Mexican Officials on Mining in Wirikuta Reserve

UN Special Rapporteur Dialogues with Mexican Officials on Mining in Wirikuta Reserve

James Anaya, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, recently published a report on his correspondence with the Mexican government regarding  mining concessions within Mexico’s Wirikuta Natural and Cultural Reserve, an area that is sacred to the Wixárika (Huichol) people. Anaya presented the following facts to the...
Urgent letter from the Wixarika People to the President of Mexico and to all the Peoples and Governments of the World

Urgent letter from the Wixarika People to the President of Mexico and to all the Peoples and Governments of the World

  To the President of the United States of Mexico Felipe Calderón Hinojosa To the People and Governments of the World PRESENT We come personally from the Western Sierra Madre to deliver this urgent letter to demand that you keep your word that you publicly announced when you committed to...
Declaration of the Wixárika Regional Council for the Defense of Wirikuta

Declaration of the Wixárika Regional Council for the Defense of Wirikuta

April 9, 2011 To the Wirikuta Defense Front of Tamatsima Waha’a To the Civil Society in General To the Three Powers of the Mexican State Will they understand in time? The governments and corporations that control the material order of the world be capable of understanding in time that the...
Declaration of the Authorities of Tatei Kie

Declaration of the Authorities of Tatei Kie

The authorities of the Wixarika indigenous community of Tatei Kie (San Andres Cohamiata) represent on this occasion the hopes of all the Wixarika People that the millennial traditions of our people be respected, as well as the sacred places that our people have cared for since times immemorial, singing, praying...
Endangered: Wirikuta Cultural Center

Endangered: Wirikuta Cultural Center

Sábado 5 de marzo de 2011 por Fernando Camacho Servín The opening of mines of gold and silver in the Huichol ceremonial center Wirikuta, in San Luis Potosí – under the auspices of the Canadian mining company First Majestic Silver – would put at grave risk the subsistence of the...
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Project Universo, the New Threat to Wirikuta

Project Universo, the New Threat to Wirikuta

RECENT TECHNICAL INFORMATION ON THE Wirikuta CASE The Tamatsima Wahaa Front for the Defense of Wirikuta reiterates once again that Wirikuta is not confined to specific sites where the Wixarika people deliver their offerings, but Wirikuta is the full collection of stones, springs, cactus, snakes, scenery, etc., comprised in a continuous stretch of land over...
Huichol ‘cosmic portal’ peyote ceremonies threatened by silver mine

Huichol ‘cosmic portal’ peyote ceremonies threatened by silver mine

The Washington Post, February 13th, William Booth REAL DE CATORCE, Mexico — For the Huichol Indians, the desert mountains here are sacred, a cosmic portal with major mojo, where shamans collect the peyote that fuels the waking dreams that hold the universe together. For a Sydney mining company, these same hills look like a billion...

Ugly Canadians? The strange culture of First Majestic

  There is widespread concern that the Canadian mining company First Majestic will destroy an area in northern Mexico that is sacred to the Wixárika (Huichol) Indians. In fact, late last year over 150 internationally known writers and artists made a direct plea to Mexican President Felipe Calderon, urging him to cancel mining concessions that...
Revolution Signs Formal Agreement with Lake Shore Gold for Mexican Property Portfolio

Revolution Signs Formal Agreement with Lake Shore Gold for Mexican Property Portfolio

December 14, 2011 2:37 PM EST Revolution Resources Corp. is pleased to report that it has signed a formal option agreement with Lake Shore Gold Corp. to acquire up to 100% of Lake Shore Gold’s four large properties in Mexico formerly held by West Timmins Mining Inc. (Lake Shore Gold acquired West Timmins Mining in...
Huichol Art Sale and Auction at 25th anniversary MAPS Conference

Huichol Art Sale and Auction at 25th anniversary MAPS Conference

Huichol Art Sale and Auction at 25th anniversary MAPS Conference in Oakland Marriot City Center, Dec 8th to 12th, 2011. Conference Website- https://www.maps.org/conference/25/ Conference Fb event -https://www.facebook.com/events/204264342954590/ The Huichol people are an indigenous group in Mexico that are unique in their way of living in a deep respectful relation with life and nature. Motor Cycle Accident They currently live...
Wixáritari Indians Fight Mining in Sacred Desert Site

Wixáritari Indians Fight Mining in Sacred Desert Site

    (IPS) – Some 200 Wixáritari or Huichol men, women and children travelled 20 hours from western Mexico to the capital to defend their sacred ceremonial sites from silver mining. Dressed in their colourful traditional attire, the demonstrators came from their mountain villages in the states of Jalisco, Nayarit and Durango to hold protests...
Press Conference - Oct. 26 -10:30 a.m. The Wixarika (Huichol) People in defense of their sacred territory, Wirikuta, gravely threatened by Canadian miners and agroindustrial corporations

Press Conference – Oct. 26 -10:30 a.m. The Wixarika (Huichol) People in defense of their sacred territory, Wirikuta, gravely threatened by Canadian miners and agroindustrial corporations

To the editors, reporters and columnists of the national and international media and to the public in general. The Wixarika Regional Council via the Wirikuta Defense Front of Tamatsima Waha’a has the honor to invite you to this Press Conference which will take place at the Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez Center for Human Rights, on...
In Morelia International Film Festival, artists sign for the protection of Wirikuta

In Morelia International Film Festival, artists sign for the protection of Wirikuta

  Mexican film personalities, from the Morelia International Film Festival, pronounced themselves in support of the defense of Wirikuta and added themselves to the call for mobilization on Oct. 26 and 27. Among the signers: Gael Garcia Bernal, Ursula Pruneda, Paula Astorga, Leo Heiblum, José Maria de Tavira, Ana Claudia Talancón, Cuauhtémoc Cardenas Batel, Felipe...
Save Wirikuta, Sacred Heart of Mexico

Save Wirikuta, Sacred Heart of Mexico

Dear friends and supporters of the Wixarika struggle to save their sacred lands, The Wixarika Regional Council and the Wirikuta Defense Front have issued a call to action and are organizaing a mass mobilization in Sunshine Coast on Oct. 26-27. They would welcome your support in getting their message out and in organizing support actions...
A hole in the heart of the world

A hole in the heart of the world

Alberto Hernandez Gonzales, a Huichol guardian of Wirikuta. Photo by José Luis Aranda. A Canadian company plans to mine for silver in the heart of Mexico’s peyote country. For the Huichol people, the project is an environmental risk – and a spiritual crisis.   By Dawn Paley Photos by José Luis Aranda THIS Magazine https://this.org/magazine/2011/09/15/first-majestic-silver-wirikuta/...
Wixaritari seek alliances to halt Canada's mining on sacred land in Mexico

Wixaritari seek alliances to halt Canada’s mining on sacred land in Mexico

The Franks Landing Indian Community, located in Washington State near  the Nisqually River, has long struggled to retain and exercise Indigenous sovereignty. The community makes alliances and supports other Indigenous peoples’ efforts to excise sovereignty and protect their territories and the resources within. Recently Franks Landing Indian Community met with the Wixaritari of Mexico, responding to...
NO TO MINING IN WIRIKUTA!

NO TO MINING IN WIRIKUTA!

Wirikuta is in the state of San Luis Potosi and Zacatecas, in central northern Mexico.  It is one of the most important sacred natural sites of the Wixaritari (Huichol) indigenous people.  The Wixaritari are native of Jalisco, Nayarit y Durango in the sierra Madre.  They are recognized in Mexico and Latin America because they have preserved and continue to practice...