Frontera NorteSur April-May 2003

Beginning near the US-Mexico border and extending over half the length of Mexico, the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range has been called the spine of Mexico. At approximately 86,000 square miles (222,700 kilometers) according to the World Wildlife Foundation, the region is two-thirds the size of the state of New Mexico. A smaller part of the Sierra Madre is known as the Sierra Tarahumara, an area of 10,000 square miles that begins 250 miles south of the US-Mexico border and extends to the Chihuahua-Durango border. The area is named after its major indigenous population, the Tarahumara (or Rarámuri as they call themselves), of whom there are approximately 90,000 that inhabit the region. Approximately 9,000 indigenous Odami (referred to in Spanish as Tepehuanes) and a few other small indigenous populations also live in the Sierra or nearby. The area where the Tarahumara live is also called the Copper Canyon or Barrancas de Cobre, a major tourist destination for Chihuahua, known for its tremendous canyons, waterfalls, forests and rock formations. 

Part of the state of Chihuahua's image and identity, the Tarahumara appear in photos in tourist literature and as a logo on state license plates. Their long-distance running capabilities, distinctive dress and religious celebrations are portrayed in many media. In contrast, the people's dire social and physical situation receive much less attention.

Their stories were terrifying

"Their stories were terrifying," says Randall Gingrich of what he heard in the early 1990s when he first entered two southern Sierra Tarahumara counties where there were three to four murders per week related to the growing of drugs and drug trafficking, illegal forestry and land fraud. It was "a culture of repression," he says, orchestrated by a powerful family whose "goal is total domination" of the area's economic resources and potential. Besides allegedly corrupting indigenous governments and communities to commit land fraud and force the growing of marijuana and opium poppies, the family also allegedly began using logging companies as money-laundering operations. This meant that they did not have to produce a profit but only continue their cutting which could serve as a cover for the intake of drug money. 

Gingrich, the executive director of the Sierra Madre Alliance, which works in an advisory capacity to Mexican partners in the Sierra Tarahumara, has also seen the poverty which has forced the Tarahumara to flee their ancestral lands. He states that tuberculosis is common and not even simple medicines are typically available, there are no dentistry resources and people suffer greatly from the lack of them, and droughts mean decreased access to water and harvests of only two to three bushels of corn per family. Despite cold, mountain conditions, many Tarahumara lack adequate clothing and even shoes. While the Tarahumara have traditional medicines and healers they are not capable of treating all conditions without Western medicines. 

The state of the old-growth forests

Not only is the area's human health in danger but old-growth pine forests of the Sierra Tarahumara, many of which belong to Tarahumara communities, are also being threatened. According to Gingrich, a 1996 study shows that 99.65% of the region's virgin forests has been cut down since 1880. He adds that since 1996 some of the remaining 0.35% has been leveled.

To give some perspective on the size of the state's logging operations, a March 31, 2003 article in the Ciudad Juárez newspaper El Norte states that 22% of Mexico's wood comes from Chihuahua. The industry employs 10,889 people at 757 plants in thirty-five Chihuahua cities or towns. While value-added wood products such as furniture are increasing according to the article, most of the state's wood is exported to other parts of the country or to other nations in raw form. Thus, despite the fact that Chihuahua cuts 22% of Mexico's wood, it only has 12.4% of the country's wood-based economy.  

Threatened species

Besides the cultural and physical importance of the forests to the Tarahumara, the pine forests are also home to many endangered species. No one knows how many nesting pairs of thick-billed parrots are left, says Gingrich, but it is known that they need big trees to nest inside. The birds' nesting spots are now primarily concentrated in just two areas of old-growth forest and one disease or fire could kill as many as two-thirds of the species, he estimates. Imperial woodpeckers, the world's largest woodpeckers, used to inhabit the Sierra but are now found only in museums since they went extinct.

Losing species not only affects ecosystems but also the fabric of the Tarahumara culture. Prudencio Ramos is a Tarahumara leader in the remote community of Pino Gordo, which Gingrich describes as "one of the most traditional indigenous communities between the Arctic and the Amazon." According to Ramos, "Birds bring us joy when they greet us in the morning. When they sing they call to the clouds and bring the rain. After the rain, the birds sing thanks to the Creator. If they take the trees the birds will not sing and the rains will fail. We will be sad."

Community needs-assessments, goal-setting and empowerment

To help improve the lives of the Tarahumara and to safeguard and better their forests, the Sierra Madre Alliance (SMA) and Mexican partner Fuerza Ambiental work to build community resources so that the Rarámuri and Odami may act for themselves. Employing a Mexican staff of community specialists, relationships are formed with indigenous communities and a community diagnosis of strengths, challenges and opportunities takes place. Next, goals are defined, feasibility studies are done and then resources are put in place so that projects can get started.

Given the area's problems with illegal forestry, bad health, malnutrition and poverty, it can be hard to believe that across the Sierra Tarahumara the number one priority for communities is water--especially since the Sierra gets more rain than lower altitudes and is known for its rivers and waterfalls. However, centuries of logging and grazing have created serious erosion problems. To remedy this, Mexican government resources are being used for micro-watershed restoration and water supply and quality projects are underway.

Before the SMA and Fuerza Ambiental began working in communities, Gingrich said families were too depressed and too desperate to act jointly. Now, sure that they can make progress for themselves, "they set directions," he says. 

Contact information: sierrama@infosel.net.mx or 011-52-14-155912 from the US.