Wirikuta is a desert valley in the North of Mexico, in San Luis Potosi.
It not only has been recognized by UNESCO as a natural and sacred area, Wirikuta is the most sacred place for the Huichol [Wixarika] people.
The Valley of Wirikuta is where the world began.
It was there where the sun rose for the first time.
Every year, the Huichol communities, inhabiting different parts of Mexico, undertake a 400km pilgrimage to their sacred Valley.
The Mexican President, earlier promising to safeguard their culture and territory,has just yielded 22 concessions for open pit mining to the Canadian enterprise First Majestic Silver Corp.
That is 6,000 acres of their ancestral territory, 50% of such desert.
To this events, the Huichol people make the following declaration to the Mexican government and to all humanity.
Get informed, participate, spread the word and help defend this territory. Visit Frente de Defensa de Wirikuta (EN/ES) Salvemos Wirikuta (ES), Wixarika Research Center (EN/ES) and NO a la Minería en Real de Catorce (ES)
What You Can Do
* Organize a letter writing campaign to Mexican officials. Personal letters have more impact, but if you prefer you can use an automated site. Cultural Survival, an organization dedicated to raising consciousness about indigenous rights, has launched an international letter writing campaign; see link for letter templates and addresses, as well as articles that explain the matter in detail. Salva la Selva has another letter writing site.
* Sign the petition http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/proclamation-in-defense-of-wirikuta/ (Sign! We have almost reached the first goal of 5000 signatures!)
* Support the legal defense fund and work to raise consciousness about what is happening. The Frente is working to pressure the Mexican government to halt the mine before digging begins in earnest. If you are a member of an organization that could help with a declaration of support for the Wixiritari people, or if you know someone with specialized knowledge or skills, like environmental experts or experts on mining that could help, please contact AJAGI [ajagi1@prodigy.net.mx]
* Make a donation to the Frente by way of Proyecto Esperanza (Project Hope) on this page with the subject heading WIRIKUTA, or by way of a bank deposit to AJAGI (c/o CARLOS CHAVEZ REYES, HSBC, Sucursal 00701, Clave interbancaria 0213 2004 0392 525721
Further Reading/Viewing
- Videos: Historic mass ceremony on Cerro Quemado (Feb. 6-7, 2012)
- Message From the Gods: Unite to Defend the Birthplace of the Sun
- Real de Catorce awaits historic pilgrimage
- Wixarika Authorities declare ‘total opposition’ to mining in Wirikuta
- A Canadian mining company prepares to dig up Mexico’s Eden
John Ahniwanika Schertow is an indigenous rights activist of Mohawk (Kanienkehaka) and mixed-European descent. For the past 8 years, he has served as the e... 
The Huichol or Wixárika (pronounced we-SHA-re-kaare) an indigenous people in western central Mexico, living in the Sierra Madre Occidental range in the Mexican states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Zacatecas, and... 
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How can this be? Can you not respect a sacred garden and place on Earth since the beginning of time? As well as the people who have cared for it and sustain it as a way of life? This mining is unfathomable.