Huichol Call to Action
Dear Colleagues for Human Rights and Environmental Justice,
The Wixárika (Huichol) people of Mexico are calling for international support to protect their sacred lands from a Canadian mining company. Please join Cultural Survival in sending urgent emails, faxes, or letters to Mexican government officials.
Seventy percent of First Majestic Silver Corporation's concessions at Real de Catorce (San Luis Potosí state) lie within the Wirikuta Cultural and Ecological Reserve. Recognized as a potential UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Wirikuta Reserve was created to protect the Wixárika people's most sacred sites and the rare, fragile ecosystem of the Real de Catorce desert, where the diversity of cactus species is the highest in the world. Mining would consume enormous amounts of water in this arid region, pollute the groundwater with heavy metals including cyanide, impact the tourism-based economy of the picturesque Real de Catorce town, affect endangered bird species and wildlife habitats, and pose a high risk to human health.
For more information, please see our action alert here and www.wixarika.org. The Wixárika traditional authorities' proclamation against mining in the Wirikuta Cultural and Ecological Reserves is posted here in English and here in Spanish.
