What is your job?

In northwestern Mexico, in the state of Sonora, I am particularly interested in the peoples of Yaqui and Mayo. In addition to learning its history and characteristics, my objective is to assist in its cultural and territorial defense movements. I put my research at their service.

How, for example?

In the Yaqui River there are many ecological damage caused for years. There is currently a pipeline and a number of mining projects in progress. In the territory of the Mayans there are also threats, such as the intention to make a lake of oxidation. In exchange for the construction license of the pipeline, 400 pesos have been offered to each family, 18 euros. What kind of insult is that? The people said no, with or without money, no.

With my studies, I try to show the value of the historicity and territoriality of these peoples. In this way I would like to explain why some changes cannot be made, let alone without consulting them. It is very important. The law says that they have to consult them before starting these kinds of projects, but they do not.

What is the map of indigenous peoples in Mexico like?

There are many indigenous peoples and many languages. Of the 127.5 million inhabitants of Mexico, 12% are indigenous. There are almost 70 villages. The municipalities with the highest population are those of Nahua and Maya. The first has almost two and a half million members and the second about 1.5 million. Sonora has nine ethnic groups, with a total of 138,000 people, representing 5.2% of the population. The people of Yawho are officially made up of 30,000 inhabitants, 40,000 according to their calculations. They are divided into eight localities. The eight peoples are the founding peoples and form the basis of their socio-political system.

Is there any relationship between indigenous peoples?

Among the villages that are in Sonora and the Mayans of Yucatán, for example, there is no direct relationship, except for a few mythological jellyfish. On the contrary, almost all of them have open their fronts in the fight against different projects. In general, it can be said that indigenous peoples do not have land that they occupied 100 or 200 years ago. It is Yawho, however small it may be, who has best kept its territory. It's not even a third of what they had, but it's very clear what the boundaries of the territory of their ancestors are. These are two hills that are shaped as a fork or a takalai fork.

It's amazing how they know the earth. The little ones can also tell you what it is, what size it has, where the boundaries are, the Yaqui River pump and how many liters of water go through the channels... It is very important to convey this knowledge. They are very linked to the earth, because their identity is based on immaterial heritage.

It is the river that gives the people its name. What is its importance?

Yaqui means “the one who speaks out loud,” and that is, or was, that river. They call themselves yoreme: “People, who respect tradition,” and whites are the opposite; “Yori.” The river is the essence. Yaquis originate from four fundamental elements: land, water, air and fire. They are sacred elements. The Yaqui River, like the cultivation fields around it, is essential for them, but the problem is that there have long been conflicts over the water of the river and the Yaquis are losing all the battles. Latzena began in the 19th century. Following liberal policies, the white people put indigenous lands on sale. They began to channel the river to water the lands of the outsiders, who became authentic agrotitans. Since then, they have carried out many other projects and today the river is no more than a stream of water in their territory. The first missionaries arrived on the island in the 17th century, due to the flow of water, compared the river with the Guadalquivir.

As a result, agriculture has been drastically reduced. They have brought their voices to the United Nations, demanding minimal ecological flow to maintain the plants and fauna of the area. They need the flora not only to feed themselves, but also as a drug and for rituals. Chopos, for example. Easter rituals are characterized by searching out of the territory for the chopo leaves and the cheeks they need for rituals.

What is your religion like?

Restructured Catholicism. The Jesuits made some arrangements to introduce Catholicism into the Yaqui world. Yaquis take what they like and suit them and reject the rest. Anthropologists call this "native Catholicism." They keep the old Catholic liturgy and the cure, for example, pronounce Mass on their backs and in Latin.

Do you speak yaqui?

No, no. I'd like to. I know how to say a few words and phrases, and I'm able to read something, but it's not easy. I said goodbye to them in their language and tried to learn.

And how is the language?

It is one of the most powerful and widely used indigenous languages in the northwest of Mexico. Most people speak. However, the language is in danger, under the threat of Spanish. Today, monolinguals can only be found between the elderly and children up to the age of 12. Adults speak Spanish well and many also know English. They have a lot to do with the Yaqui communities that live in Arizona. It is very common for musicians and dancers to have special permits in the United States to go to this place. In Arizona, some 8,000 Yaquis live, and they are recognized by the government of the region.

How did they get there?

Those who are there are exiled. They were at the time when the Yaquis rebelled against the Mexican Government at the end of the 19th century, at the time of the dictator Porfirio Díaz. The Yaquis have been fighting for almost two centuries in defence of their territoriality. The problem started when they started taking the land off. White people thought that there was too little production in the indigenous regions and that more profit had to be made. There are two ways of understanding life and land: indigenous people do not see land as a place of agricultural production or livestock, but as a place where culture can be developed and lived. They call their territory toosa (nest). White people's conception of space and its use and that of white people are very different and incompatible.

What consequences have the struggles had on the Yaounde people?

The hardest arrived in the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz. Horrific massacres had been committed in the villages. Hundreds of men were killed, and women and children, sometimes entire families, were exiled, especially to Yucatan, to work in cattle. Yaquis are very strong and good workers. At the time in Sonora there were no more than 10,000 Yaquis stopped, but at the end of the porphyriato many of them went home. What they did was the opposite effect: accession to the territory was accentuated by exile.

On the other hand, the Yaquis are very skilled negotiators who have made many agreements with each other to recover their land. In 1910 they had an important participation in the Mexican revolution, with the promise to return the territory to them after the war. It wasn't fully accomplished, and there were more fights for years. In 1940, the Government of Mexico granted them a third of its territory. Although they have stayed with a few 400,000 hectares, they believe they can still recover a larger part and are working on it.

Hence the commission you have been made in Spain?

Yes. I had been in Madrid for only three days, I received the mandate of the traditional government of Loma de Bacum to search the archives for some important documents. In particular, I have been asked to locate the 17th century document declaring the territory of the Yaounde. It is the document signed in 1615 by the king of Spain Felipe III, in which the extension and boundaries of the territory of this population are officially detailed for the first time.

To do so, I am going to Seville. I would also like to gather information on the deportation battalion that the Mexican Government offered to Spain to serve as a soldier in the Rif war. That would be the last of the long series of deportations against the people of Yaqui.

What relationship do indigenous cultures have with the Government of Mexico?

The Government has institutions for the development of indigenous peoples, but at the same time supports the large external enterprises that destroy their territories. Transnational corporations that destroy indigenous territories are much stronger than the Mexican Government itself. They have their police officers, their chariots -- Meten drones, for example, as a spy. It can also be said that the Government is looking elsewhere when mafias and drug traffickers introduce synthetic drugs.

What are yaquis like?

In the old chronicles it appears as a rebellious, fighting and obstinate people. Today many are still afraid of being aggressive, but that is not true. They only defend themselves against aggression. They are quite clear that they have been victims of a massacre.

In some things, they're very naive. And very suspicious at once. They don't like anyone else being photographing in rituals. There are no photos of the Virgen del Camino. Tourism doesn't interest them, but they don't want it. They accept that people will see their sacred dances and rites, but with respect. They are very histrionic and bromistic, especially with the outsiders. On the other hand, they are very sensitive. The missionaries realized. If you're invited to your house and you can't go, you're very sad.

They love to go outside and get to know new things. If the missionaries were received it was because they were interested. The missionaries brought a new and rich rituality, which attracted the attention of the Yaquis. The missionaries also contributed new agricultural techniques. The people of Yaqui have an important intellectual elite. There are historians, linguists, writers, lawyers, anthropologists, musicians -- they're very skilled at legal issues. It is not the largest but emblematic indigenous community, and many other indigenous people imitate it in their relations with their government.

And what relationship do you have with them?

I don't live there, but I leave many times. Sometimes they say: “There goes the white Indian.” They're very active on Facebook, and we have a very close relationship on the net. They know that I work for them and they very much appreciate it.