Empowering Indigenous Youth in Mexican Communities

This project aims to strengthen meaningful bonds between local youth and their indigenous community culture, carrying out workshops to increase awareness and foster creative expression regarding fundamental community practices. During this period, we continued online workshops in six communities, and carried out in-person workshops in two communities.

The eight online workshops of this period focused on community practices that are carried out within the intimate circle of the family. In the previous period, participants had identified traditions related to community government, community territory, community service and community festivities. In this period participants explored how the same principles of community life (reciprocity, participation, service, respect for all living beings) are present in daily life within the home. Young people identified practices they have experienced in their own families and selected themes to explore with community elders.

Most of the participants chose the practices of healing, that involve beliefs regarding the influence of sacred forces as well as knowledge of herbs and potions. The young people developed their questions, and carried out dialogues with elders. Elders of Villa de Tututepec and Molinos shared their knowledge, and a healer from Coixtlahuaca demonstrated the procedure known as the “limpia” (cleansing).

Participants expressed what they had learned through theatrical exercises and puppet plays, and are currently developing radio programs to share their experience.

On the other hand, we took steps to transition to in-person activities in two communities, San Juan Bautista Coixtlahuaca and San Miguel Tequixtepec. In both cases it was possible to enrich the workshops with the participation of students of Kalamazoo College, Michigan. UMCO has collaborated with this excellent liberal arts college for many years, and is currently offering a 10-week program that culminates with students planning and carrying out creative workshops for youth.

The workshop carried out in San Miguel Tequixtepec encompassed exercises to represent narratives through mime and movement, and concluded with a theatrical recreation of the procedure to cure “susto” (fright). In San Juan Bautista Coixtlahuaca local youth learned about the legends of sacred sites through visits and dialogue with elders, and later created graphic representations of each legend with photographs, drawings and texts.

In summary, during this period the activities of the project included eight online workshops and two in-person workshops, involving 49 young people of six communities (Villa de Tututepec, San Pedro Molinos, San Miguel del Progreso, San Martín Huamelulpan, San Miguel Tequixtepec and San Juan Bautista Coixtlahuaca), who deepened their knowledge and personal connection to their community practices.