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, the UMCO team organized a Symposium with young people and adults to reflect on the impact of the program, completed an intensive state-wide workshop for indigenous youth, and began another similar workshop.

On September 7 and 8, the Symposium “Our Vision of Change” brought together 28 adults and 16 young people, including representatives of 3 grass-roots and educational institutions, to share their perspectives regarding the Project “Empowering Indigenous Youth in Mexican Communities.” After reflecting on the impact of the pandemic on students and communities in general, and the project in particular, participants discussed how to reactivate and strengthen the collaborative relationships between diverse community actors. Which were the most effective strategies to re-establish the links between community museums, other community organizations and schools? Which initiatives could contribute to an education that responds to community needs, helping nourish and dignify local identity and culture? The Coalition of Indigenous Teachers and Promoters of Oaxaca, the Center for Education and Creativity Calpulli, and the Program of Secondary Schools for Indigenous Communities of Oaxaca, as well as elders, community leaders and young people, shared their ideas in small and large groups. Participating communities included Santa Ana del Valle, San Martín Huamelulpam, Magdalena Jaltepec, Santa María Yucuhiti, Santo Domingo Yanhuitlán, San Miguel Tequixtepec, San Pedro Molinos, San Francisco Cajonos, San Bautista Coixtlahuaca and Santa María Cuquila.

Among the participating youth, a special group of 6 had been part of the project throughout several years, and had subsequently gone on to continue their studies or to work. (Two were carrying out university studies, two were in highschool, and two were working.) These participants shared memories and reflections concerning their experiences of the project that had most influenced them. One of them wrote: “The project helped me develop my own criteria regarding my community roots. I learned from my own parents and grandparents, from walking through the communal territory, and from speaking with elders. I especially remember the meetings where we exchanged experiences with young people from other communities and states….the most meaningful thing for me was to feel proud of my origin, to feel part of my community’s history…To have participated in this project for several years impacted the way I saw and thought about things when I left my community to study at the university. To feel proud of my heritage opened doors for me.”

Another participant stated: “This will influence me in the future, because I will pass on to other young people what I have learned about our customs…we will be an important part of process of development of our community.”

The adult participants shared experiences of educational programs that included indigenous language, knowledge and practices. Elders also shared how traditional knowledge and principles were passed on from generation to generation, and the importance of including these practices in the project. In general, this was a significant event that helped to clarify goals, and to reactivate and strengthen relationships of cooperation between the Union of Community Museums, grass-roots organizations, schools and community elders.

The state-wide workshop held during November, 2023, began with two on-line sessions to introduce the themes of cultural change and the concept of comunalidad (a concept encompassing four pillars of community organization: communal government, communal territory, communal service and the fiesta). The in-person session of three days was carried out in San Martín Huamelulpam, with the participation of 36 young people and 18 adults from 5 communities (Villa de Tututepec, Magdalena Jaltepec, San Miguel Tequixtepec, Santo Domingo Yanhuitlán and San Martín Huamelulpam). 

This workshop centered on the theme of practices to honor and protect the communal territory. After the initial activities of group integration and reflection, the young people listened to elders describe these practices, as they walked through different sites of symbolic importance and saw demonstrations of offerings that are made there. The young people then wrote poems and developed theatrical presentations to share what they had learned. One team wrote a poem on the fiesta of May 15, the day that San Isidro Labrador is celebrated. They described how the bulls are dressed with ribbons and flags, and taken to mass with baskets of corn, as community members sing and rejoice.

In February, 2024, another intensive state-wide workshop began. On February 9 the facilitators carried out the first virtual session to introduce the notion of cultural change and challenges for community ways of life. This session involved the active participation of 28 young people. The following virtual session will be held on February 16, and the three-day in person workshop on February 23, 24 and 25 in Santiago Matatlán. This workshop will center on the ceremonial discourses and the special vocabulary used in the Zapotec language to express community principles. Community elders of Matatlán will share their knowledge with youth and adults from Santa Ana del Valle, Magdalena Jaltepec, San Martín Huamelulpam, Villa de Tututepec and Santo Domingo Yanhuitlán.

In summary, during this period 80 young people and 46 adults from 12 communities were involved in the activities of the Syposium “Our Vision of Change” and two intensive state-wide workshops. The project has thus enriched processes of reflection between adults and youth to evaluate its methods, and provided the opportunity for 80 young people to expand their knowledge and appreciation of their traditional way of life. Participating communities included Santa Ana del Valle, Santa María Yucuhiti, Santo Domingo Yanhuitlán, San Miguel Tequixtepec, San Pedro Molinos, San Francisco Cajonos, San Bautista Coixtlahuaca, Santa María Cuquila, Villa de Tututepec, Magdalena Jaltepec, Santiago Matatlán and San Martín Huamelulpam.