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 facilitated the organization of workshops in San Miguel Tequixtepec and San Pedro Molinos, and initiated a state-wide workshop, which will end with an in-person session from June 6 to June 8.

From February 18 to March 7, four students from Kalamazoo College carried out workshops in San Miguel Tequixtepec and San Pedro Molinos. These workshops are part of the Study Abroad/Civic Engagement program UMCO has developed with Kalamazoo College throughout the past 7 years, in which participating students design and carry out creative workshops for indigenous students to express what they have learned about their local community practices.

In San Miguel Tequixtepec, 65 students of the Elementary School “Revolución” developed creative exercises and field trips. The exercises encompassed group dynamics for creative expression in painting and clay. The field trips included a guided visit to the community museum, where elders shared their perspectives of the importance of the local fiestas, traditional palm weaving, and their archaeological heritage. Following the museum visit, different grades visited a variety of local sites with different elders sharing their knowledge. One group visited the spring and river that provide water to the community, and learned about its management. A second group visited an historical site of the first settlements in the colonial period, and learned about the community’s origins. A third group visited the sites of traditional steam baths or temazcales, as well as the caves used for palm weaving, where they learned about traditional healing and weaving practices. During all these visits, many parents participated and enjoyed learning about these sites as well. The workshops ended with an exhibition of the clay figures each student created, representing what they had observed and learned. The students presented their creations in a public event attended by the local authorities, parents, teachers, and representatives of UMCO, where the adults recognized the importance of the efforts of the local students to learn about their community culture.

In San Pedro Molinos, 18 students of the Secondary School also carried out creative exercises and field trips. The focus of this workshop was the creation of field books, where students could document their experiences with photographs, drawings and texts. All 18 students participated in the field trips to learn about the limits of the communal territory, the functions of the agrarian authorities (comisariado de bienes comunales), and ceremonial practices of offerings to the earth. The material gathered from their trips and their reflections were expressed in field books created by three teams, which were also presented in a public event attended by local authorities, teachers and parents, who applauded the students’ achievements.

During this period, UMCO is also preparing for another state-wide workshop, which will include two virtual sessions and a three-day workshop. The virtual sessions have introduced 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 workshop will be held in Santa María Cuquila from June 6 to June 8, with the participation of the communities of Santa Ana del Valle, San Miguel Tequixtepec, San Pedro Tututepec, San Miguel del Progreso, Santo Domingo Yanhuitlán and Santa María Cuquila. The focus of this workshop will be the local system of community service, known as the cargo system, or system of usages and customs (usos y costumbres).

In summary, in this period 83 children and adolescents from San Miguel Tequixtepec and San Pedro Molinos expanded their knowledge and appreciation of their traditional way of life through local workshops, while UMCO has initiated another state-wide workshop to be completed from June 6 to June 8, with the participation of 6 different communities.