The Wixárika Research Center maintains an online world-class archive of Wixárika (Huichol) indigenous art and culture to educate the public about this unique and extraordinary culture. Through the foundation's Web site, we raise public awareness about the challenges these indigenous people are facing today due to their rapidly changing environment. It is our hope that the website will amplify their voices and add weight to their opinions and concerns.

As we approach the close of 2012, we look back on an eventful year with much news to report. Aside from our continued efforts to help protect Wirikuta from the devastation of mining and industrial agriculture, we have also taken on the challenge of reviving the carpentry and weaving workshops in the sierras with the addition of solar energy and have increased our work on the preservation of the archives. Below is an update on our activities and our goals for 2013.

The crisis Mexico is living as a result of the continued escalation of violence between rival drug cartels and the state’s armed forces has increasingly affected indigenous peoples who have seen their territories invaded by these competing armed forces. Unfortunately, Wixaritari communities are no exception to this phenomenon. Santa Catarina Cuexcomatitlán’s (Tuapurie) continued objection to the completion of the Huejuquilla-Bolaños road has facilitated this community’s ability to keep their land somewhat inhospitable to outsiders, including drug traffickers.

La crisis que está viviendo México como resultado del aumento continuo de violencia entre cárteles rivales de narcotráfico y las fuerzas armadas del estado afecta cada vez más a pueblos indígenas quienes han visto sus territorios invadidos por estas fuerzas armadas adversarias. Desafortunadamente, comunidades wixaritari no son ninguna excepción a este fenómeno.

Last year our efforts to set up an effective bilingual website that reached out to a Spanish public bore fruits. Not surprisingly some of these people are the first generation of grass roots Huichol who have access...