PBI-Mexico accompanies REDETI convened gathering of Indigenous Rarámuri and Ódami communities in the Sierra Tarahumara

Raichali (which means “word” in the Rarámuri language) reports: “More than sixty members of the Rarámuri and Ódami Indigenous communities of the Sierra Tarahumara met with members of the Tsotsil and Ch’ol communities of Chiapas to exchange experiences on their own processes of autonomy, use of natural resources, organization for the defense of the territory and strengthening of their culture.”

“This meeting was convened by the Indigenous communities and civil associations that are members of the Network for the Defense of Indigenous Territory in the Sierra Tarahumara (REDETI) and took place in Corarayvo, municipality of Guazapares, between October 6 and 8, as a follow-up to the meetings held year after year to strengthen the ties between these communities and strengthen their struggles.”

The article then highlights: “Some of these communities face problems of lack of recognition of their territory, siege by local chieftains, forced displacement events and constant threats for their forest defense activities.”

The meeting held last year was in the Indigenous community of Coloradas de la Virgen that has experienced the murders of its community leaders, including Rarámuri land defender Julián Carrillo on October 24, 2018.

Mariana Azucena Villarreal Frías of the Network in Defense of Indigenous Territories of Sierra Tarahumara (REDETI) will be in Ottawa on October 24 and plans to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Carrillo’s death.

Photo: Mariana Azucena Villarreal Frías (REDETI) and Manuel Jabonero (PBI-Mexico) met with Mary Lawlor (UN Special Rapporteur) in Washington, DC prior to their visit to Ottawa.

Kathy Price of Amnesty International Canada has noted: “The assassination [of Julián] came just a week after he spoke out against the environmental impacts of a mining concession awarded by authorities to a Canadian mining company without the free, prior and informed consent of the Indigenous people whose lands would be impacted.”

In December 2019, Mariana’s organization signed this statement that says: “In Chihuahua, in the Rarámuri community of Coloradas de La Virgen, located in the Sierra Tarahumara, four mining concessions were granted without guaranteeing the people’s right to their ancestral lands and to consultation: three to individuals and the fourth to the mining company Evrim S.A. de C.V., which belongs to the Canadian group Evrim Resources Corp.”

The Evrim Resources Cerro Cascaron project is located in Chihuahua. Initial drilling for gold and silver at this site began on October 4, 2018. In June 2020, Evrim Resources Corp. merged with Renaissance Gold, Inc. to form Orogen Royalties Inc. headquartered at 1015–789 West Pender Street in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

We continue to follow this situation.

Further reading

PBI-Canada to help REDETI commemorate the 5th anniversary of the murder of Rarámuri land defender Julián Carrillo (October 13, 2023)

PBI-Canada to host the Network in Defense of Indigenous Territories of Sierra Tarahumara (REDETI) in Ottawa, October 24-29 (October 10, 2023)