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DID YOU KNOW?
FACTS & FICTION WITH A MEXICAN TWIST
APRIL 2007Did you know...
...that organic farming has helped some indigenous peoples in Mexico to reinvent themselves? By Tony Burton Copyright © 2007
How many people are there?
According to INEGI figures, about six million Mexicans over the age of five speak at least one indigenous language. Another three million Mexicans consider themselves indigenous but no longer speak any indigenous language.
How many indigenous towns or villages exist?
INEGI figures show that, in over 13,000 localities, more than 70% of the population speaks an indigenous language. Most of these localities are small rural settlements with fewer than 500 inhabitants. These settlements are often highly marginalized, with high levels of poverty.
Speaking an Indian language is usually a disadvantage.
Speakers of indigenous languages fall way below the Mexican average on almost any socio-economic indicator. For instance, almost 33% of indigenous-speakers are illiterate, compared to a national rate of 9.5%. Females are particularly disadvantaged - indigenous females stay in school...
Where do the indigenous people live?
More than 92% of the indigenous population lives in central and southern Mexico. With the notable exception of the 100,000+ Tarahumara Indians who live in the remote Copper Canyon region of Chihuahua, other indigenous groups in northern Mexico have relatively small populations.
The reason is largely historical. The major pre-Columbian civilizations in Mexico - Maya, Aztec, Zapotec, etc - developed in central or southern Mexico. The north always had fewer indigenous people. The disparity in numbers between north and south was heightened in early colonial times, as Spain ...
At last count, Oaxaca has over one million indigenous speakers representing more than a third of the state's population. The state's largest indigenous linguistic groups are the Zapotec, Mixtec, Mazatec, Chinantec, and Mixe. Oaxaca's ethnic diversity is celebrated in the annual Guelaguetza festival, normally held in July.
The Mam of Chiapas: Organic farming and regaining a cultural identity1
The Mexican Mam (there are also Guatemalan Mam) first settled in Chiapas in the late nineteenth century, mainly in the deforested mountains of the eastern part of the state. They had virtually disappeared from view as a cultural group by 1970, having lost most of their traditional customs. Today, the 8,000 or so Mam, living close to the Guatemala border, have shown that it is possible for some indigenous groups to re-invent themselves, to secure a stronger foothold in the modern world.
Mexican policies from 1935-1950 towards Indian groups...
From 1950-1970, the Mexican government opted for a modernization approach, building roads...
After 1970, the Mam gradually re-found themselves...
For instance, one 1900-member cooperative, ISMAM (Indigenous People of the Motozintla Sierra Madre), specialized in the production of organic coffee...
At the same time, the Mam have re-invented their cultural identity and helped revive their language and...
Sources
1 Based on R. Aída Hernández Castillo. Histories and Stories from Chiapas. Border Identities in Southern Mexico. University of Texas Press. 2001.
Population figures are from INEGI 2000 Census and II Conteo de Población y Vivienda 2005. INEGI, Aguascalientes.
Read the complete article . . .
Did You Know Index
Text © Copyright 2007 by Tony Burton. All rights reserved.
Photos © Copyright 2007 by Don Fyfe-Wilson. All rights reserved.
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