WHCS Sophomore Critical Questions

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Bradley Loretto

Critical Question #1

What Does It Mean To Serve?

            To serve means helping of doing something for your people. A tribe or community. People serving other people are doing the right. A governor of a country is serving is serving their country. This year we have read and learned about men who have served their people. Such as Tupac Amaru, Simon Bolivar, Evo Morales, Benito Juarez, Pancho Villa, & Emiliano Zapata. On our trip we observed others giving service: Dr. Hector Lechuga, our guide Innoceinta, Brian and Olga Appell, and Sheriff Raul who showed us around.

Evo Morales is also serving his country of Bolivia, which is located in South America. He is like indigenous president. Benito Juarez who served his people and helped Mexico gain independence from Spain. Pancho Villa was also serving his people before he was assassinated.

Emiliano Zapata was a native Mexican who served his people and fought for the poor in the Mexican Revolution. He was leading figure in the Mexican Revolution, which broke out in 1910.

Simon Bolivar was one of the most important leaders of Hispanic America’s successful struggle for independence from Spain. He participated in the foundation of Gran Colombia, a nation that was forming from the liberated Spanish colonies. Bolivar became the president of Gran Colombia from 1821 to 1830. He was also the president of Peru from 1824 to 1826 and President of Bolivia from 1825 to 1826.

So what I think about serving is that it’s a way of doing something for your people or community. Brian Appell served us and let us stay at his house in Durango, Mexico. Also fed us while we were down in Mexico. The city of Carachi also served us, by staying in cabins and provided the food. That’s what I think it means to serve!!!

CRITICAL QUESTION #2

IMPACTS OF EXTERNAL INFLUENCES

            The traditional people called the Tarahumara Indians are located in the northern part of Chihuahua State. They still live a lot like they did before the Spaniards came and brought their Christianity along with them. The Spanish tried to force them to change. The mestizos took their good land away and they were being forced to do slavery in the mines. Today, the Tarahumara live far away from the cities, because they want to be traditional and mestizos stole their land. They live by using there tradition. They do dances, sing, and more. The women cook’s and clean, and make things to sell.

             What they have out there is nothing like what we have, like electronics. If they’d had that kind of technology it would be difficult for them to maintain their traditions.

            Also the Tarahumara people are being forced to plant and grow Marijuana and opium poppies. They are being forced by men who are known as the “DRUG LORDS”. But doing that is not right. By growing drugs instead of food, sometimes their kids don’t get enough to eat.

            Many of the people are moving to cities because of the drought. The disease that they have is very bad and not good for them. They are exposed to drug resistant tuberculosis, which is a disease that eats holes in your lungs. Also, by eating the bad food in the city. They are developing obesity and diabetes. Some men have stopped farming to support their families and many of them are prone to depression. That can lead to alcoholism. So the impact of external influences has not been good.

CRITICAL QUESTION #3

HOW CAN INDIGENOUS PEOPLE SUSTAIN CULTURE AND BE ECONOMICALLY SUCCESSFUL?

Indigenous people can sustain their culture by using their religion and tradition. There are different ways that people can sustain their culture and be economically successful.

            These are several ways that these people can sustain culture which are:

·        Education & Technology

·        Selling Products

·        Lobbying Governments

·        Promoting Tourism

·        Keeping Traditions Alive

Some people get educations and use technology in schools and colleges in cities like Chihuahua and Durango. They mostly use technology if they are living in bigger cities where they have technology and if they have money.

In small villages, there is usually no technology. People live in small villages are poor and don’t have any jobs. That’s why these people don’t use technology. But a lot of people like going to school and being educated.

Another way to sustain culture & be economically successful is to sell stuff such as Necklaces, Shirts, Baskets, and more. They all make them by hands.

The reason why they sell is because they need to support their family and children. The souvenirs they make is what they sell and they go to a lot of places and travel far to sell. Even the younger children make and sell.

Lobbying Governments is another way to sustain culture & be economically viable. It’s a meaning of people that goes to a place and asks for something from that government. It’s like you getting what you’ve asked for. This will help people sustain culture and be economically viable by... (Example Jemez casino).

Promoting Tourism is almost like tourism but with not a lot of people. It’s like going as individual groups or just a couple.

These people should keep their traditions alive and not let it go. The Tarahumara Indians also wear their traditional clothing and they use horses and wagons as vehicles. They still do there traditional ceremonies and religious stuff. That’s what I think about Indigenous people sustaining their culture.

CRITICAL QUESTION #4

WHAT KIND OF TOURISM I SAW OR EXPERIENCED?

            TOURISM-A lot of people do different types of tourism. Many people go to different countries to check out the country and go as a tourism. There are several ways that people can go as tourists:

·        Ecotourism

·        Cultural Tourism

·        Adventure Tourism

Ecotourism- Is like someone who is nice, helping, and caring about the environment. They go to places that have minimum impact on plants, animals, water, and trees. 

Cultural Tourism- People traveling to different countries and visiting something cultural. They visit places where there are sites and ruins. Also taking photography of that place. Someone who cares for the people that live in different countries. That person will either give out things such as food, clothes, clothes, presents, and more. Also that person might help out people and the communities.

Adventure Tourism- means people as a group who goes out and visits the countries. There are several ways that people can go as Adventure Tourism. Like biking, hiking, and more. I saw a lot of people biking and hiking. These people were from all over the world.

We actually went down in Mexico as cultural Tourists to learn about the Tarahumara and see what they need.  We went to go visit and checked out the country. We went to a lot of places and also saw a lot of tourism going on.

I think tourism is beneficial to indigenous people. But for some people, it might be harmful. Other people are bad that go as tourists. So that why I think it’s harmful.

I think Ecotourism would be best for the Tarahumara to help their economy and keep their traditions

CRITICAL QUESTION #5

Now that you’ve made friends and connections in Mexico, express how you feel about homeland security, border patrols and building walls along the US/Mexico border?

            Now that I’ve met some Mexicans my age, I still think there should be a brick wall along the border because:

·        Its our land

·        To keep out drugs

·        To stop sex trafficking of young female

·        To stop people from coming in the United States

·        To stop bringing in illegal things

The borders total length is 1,969 miles (3,169 km).   What I think about the border is that it is long but it is not helping. A lot of illegal immigrants are crossing the border. It is the most frequently crossed International border in the world. About 250 million legal crossings happen very year. They should build something that can keep the immigrants from coming in here. Something that is strong and tall. Let’s say, a huge stone brick wall. That would maybe help.

But a lot of people are coming to the United States because they want to change their way of living. The people come here because they want to start a new life. The reason why they come is because of the jobs and the way of living

Others come because of drug dealing. Most people bring in illegal drugs which they’re not supposed to. All the drugs they bring in are bad for us. Most of the drug dealing happens in the United States.

Sex Trafficking is also happening in the United States. Males catch young girls and brings them into the United States. They bring them in so they can earn some money. They force them into prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour, or services. I think this should stop.

 Delfino Castillo

Mexico Trip

By: Delfino Castillo

Based on my readings, sites we visited and, guest presentations in Mexico, this essay will describe the service to others seen in Mexico. The definition of service is an act of doing something helpful. Examples included Mr. Appell and how he set up the trip, also others such as Doctor Lechuga who set up an entire week of events and places to visit and a place to stay. Another person who served us was Mr. Raúl Granados who escorted us to the different sites and helped us in every way he could. Other service was shown throughout the trip. It will also talk about the different places we visited and the reason why we went.

In my first example I will talk about Mr. Appell and his service to us. Mr. Appell went through a lot of work to organize the details of our trip to Mexico and learn about different indigenous cultures in that area. He also was one of the three drivers who drove us all around in Mexico. Mr. Appell is our Spanish teacher and he was teaching us how to order food ask questions and thank people that we met in Mexico. Otherwise, how could we have a conversation in Mexico with other people that we don’t know?

Another example of service was Doctor Hector Lechuga. Doctor Lechuga does a lot of work hard to help Tarahumara people with food and water and also heath issues. Doctor Lechuga set up a whole week of events and activities for us to keep busy, such as going to Tarahumara villages and seeing how they live and to seeing their religious traditions. He also set up plans for us to eat at a restaurant and a place to sleep for four nights at no cost, which saved the tribe a lot of money and Mr. Appell didn’t have to worry about a hotel or cost on food. Dr. Lechuga was also a translator for us and took us to the villages and let us meet the governor of one of the Tarahumara villages. He also showed us his house and introduced us to his family they were so nice they cooked lunch for us. The most fun thing I remember about him is that he set up a big Mariachi party for us the day before we left Carichi.

Another person that served us was Raúl Granados, the director of public security in Carichi. He took his time to be with us and show us around the area and really seems to care about them even though he’s from a different culture. He showed us the Tarahumara villages and different schools. He escorted us to the town of Carichi and to the cabins were we slept. He was a cool guy who could take jokes as well make his own like when we were done swimming at the hot springs he asked if he could help dry them then just got them and tossed them back into the hot springs. He was not only there to escort us around the mountains to Tarahumara villages but he was our bodyguard. He was a sheriff and he had a couple of sheriff’s with him when we went to different places.

Other forms of service were that the Tarahumara kids, who showed us their traditional games. And the Tarahumara governor called other elder men to play a traditional song for us but they had to walk a mile and a half just to get the drums to where we were at, just to play us a song.  

Other people use their spare time to work in some jobs with family members so they can make enough money just to live in a nice warm home. So they skip school or other things just to help their family.

That is what the trip taught me about what it means to serve, in my point of view.

Question 2

Impacts of External Influences

By: Delfino Castillo

This paper will address the impacts of external influences to Mexico and its Indigenous people, starting with history then going to today’s world.

The southern range of the U.S. Rocky Mountain after they exit the U.S. and enter Mexico is called the Sierra Madre Occidental. The portion of the Sierras that passes through the Mexican state of Chihuahua is also known as the Sierra Tarahumara. The major community in the Copper Canyon is the town of Creel.

The first external impact on the Tarahumara began with the arrival of the Spaniards in the 1600’s. The Spaniard’s main motive for exploring this area of Mexico was their search for gold and silver they mined these minerals by using Indians. The Tarahumara people experienced Christianity and slavery imposed on them by the Spanish.  The Spanish took land away from the meztizo population for their personal use to satisfy their greed. 

When I take into consideration the conditions and situations of the tribal communities we visited, the community of the Tarahumara people otherwise known as Rarámuri in their own language, live far back in the mountains, they are people who still live by their old traditional ways that go back in time.  The Tarahumara people speak a dialect of Uto-Aztecan instead of Spanish.

Some outside influences are good for the Tarahumara, such as medicine and   food, which could improve their way of living better lives. In today’s world people in the world need money to survive.  However, perhaps some people don’t need anything from the 21^st century to survive if they reside in a place abundant with lots of game,  good soil for planting,  and a river or lake – ocean’s are too salty for agriculture and drinking.

The Tarahumara people are poor and don’t have much money.  For example, they don’t have money to buy a vehicle to transport their children to and from school.  Therefore, children have to walk two hours to get to school. The Tarahumara’s way of life is hard and difficult.  

The waters of the rivers are often polluted.  by animals who defecate and urinate in the rivers which impacts people negatively who reside down the river. Unfortunately, Tarahumara people drink the water which can cause ghiardia. If an expecting mother gets sick, her child may be born with diseases.  These can be transmitted through the milk consumed by the child.

If the Tarahumara want to put technology in their lives, they will have a hard time at first, but as time moves on they will get used to it more and more. They might start getting lazy, and won’t want to do their daily traditions and may lose their culture if they are not careful.

Some Tarahumara people are being forced to grow drugs in the mountains just to keep their families alive the local newspaper recently reported that some drug lords in Mexico make money on the backs of the poor.

QUESTION 3

How can Indigenous people sustain culture and be economically successful?

 By: Delfino Castillo

The Tarahumara, or Raramuri, as they call themselves, live in the Sierra Tarahumara in the northern state of Chihuahua, Mexico. They belong to the Uto-Aztecan family, they originally control more than 28,000 square miles of mountainous terrain, that area is larger then the state of West Virginia.

Since Europeans first came in contact with them, their land has slowly been reduced and is now half of the size it was before. The total population of the Sierra Tarahumara is 311,114, of which fifty to sixty-five thousand are Tarahumara.

The Tarahumara are considered one of the few indigenous groups in North America that have been able to preserve their traditional style of life almost with no technology for three and a half centuries.

In my point of view, the Tarahumara need to be involved with the city to learn about what is going on in the 21^st century.

They need to go to a public school in the city, so they can get jobs to make money for their family. If they put their mind to it, they can learn so many things so they can be economically successful in life. Some people may think that the Tarahumara are not smart, but they have schooling in their little villages. They learn about their own culture and what’s goes on in their own life style.

They don’t have big schools with fancy stuff, but they use what they have and learn as much as they can. Their teachers are volunteers who want to help them with learning for the next generation. 

Question 4

 Tourism

By: Delfino Castillo

Tourism  is good and bad for the Tarahumara people and many other indigenous people, because it has a big affect on the culture of most tribes. The same is true for our pueblos in New Mexico. This paper will address the affects tourism has on indigenous people.

There are different kinds of tourism such as eco-tourism, adventure tourism, business tourism, and culture tourism.

 I think tourism is important in the Sierra Tarahumara region of Chihuahua, Mexico and as well as other places in the world where indigenous people live. The Tarahumara and other indigenous tribes can develop different ways of handling tourism. Ways such as economic development, and how many tourists should be allowed to visit.

Ethnic and nature tourism can help protect indigenous people and their environments by providing a sustainable alternative to subsistence agriculture and extractive activities such as timber harvesting. Ethnic tourism can also have many negative consequences including messing with the culture, social tension, and loss of cultural/religion.          

US Mexican Boarder

Delfino Castillo

The international border between Mexico and the United States runs from San Diego, California, and Tijuana, Baja California, in the west to Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and Brownsville, Texas, in the east. From the Gulf of Mexico it follows the course of the Rio Grande to the border crossing at El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua.

The U.S./Mexican border has the highest number of both legal and illegal crossings of any land border in the world. A large percentage of the border is guarded by large numbers of patrolling agents of the U.S. federal government.

For a period of time in the 1990s U.S. Army personnel were stationed along the U.S.-Mexico border to help the flow of illegal aliens and drug smugglers. Each state in the United States has a National Guard organization that could, be placed on the border at a state governor's discretion to assist with border security.

Terilyn Sandia

Mexico Trip

By: Terilyn Sandia

     Based on our visits to schools, museums, and guest presentations in Mexico, there were a lot of Mexicans who were great servants to us and ingratiating to me and the students and staff included. Some examples are: Going to Chihuahua. The people of that city I thought were very commendable. Every where in the city of Chihuahua, in stores, restaurants, and Markets, people who worked there and helped others by working in their shops. Traveling to other cities and tribes natives to there land Mexicans to there’s. The people of Mexico serve others by being nice or possibly they were told to be grateful in a way, but they served us and had good behavior in looking after us, advising us  to be careful & teaching us how to show respect the people of Mexico.

        Mr. Appell and his wife, Olga Appell, served us by offering their home to stay in. They served us with a shower, and a place to sleep comfortably and welcomed us. Olga even cooked food for us, And the couple helped us by offering a very safe house.

        While we stayed in Durango, we went to the plaza and to other places to eat. Mr. Appell tried his best to get us out of the house to go do something exciting and fun that was school related, and Olga was there to help him out as much as she could. 

          As we started moving on and left Durango drove north to Carachi, Mexico. This is where I enjoyed my stay the most. There was Swimming, free food, good food, and nice servers and people! Like Raul Granados and Dr. Lechuga.

          Dr. Lechuga is a doctor who studies diseases and he is trying to help the natives in Carachi and study on the Tarahumaras the children the most. He thinks that the Tarahumara should be in good shape in good health. But every year there are children dying and they are not registered citizens, they do not have any birth certificates. Dr. LeChuga is reaching out for help and does the best that he can. He is a doctor himself and a great server in what he wants to do with the people. And how helpful he was to us, waking up every morning to go and enjoy the day with us.

          Raul, the sheriff and cowboy of Carchi he was our guide. He took us, to many places and showed us the cave where he was born and where the Apache and the Tarahumara’s use to live. Raul was a servant to the group. He showed us his field and of the apple fields where the Tarahumaras work and get treated really badly for only five dollars a day.

What I learned about history was: Benito Juarez was a servant and first Native Governor to the state of Mexico. Juarez was born in the small Zapotec Indian village of San Pablo Guelatao, Oxacaca Mexico, on March 21, 1806. In 1831 Juarez entered politics as an official on the Oxacan town council. And in 1835 the city elected him as a Liberal deputy to the federal legislature. He carried forward his legal career, often serving as a representative of the severely poor Indian communities in their struggles to protect their landholdings. Honest and intelligent, he became one of Oaxaca’s leading lawyers.

        In 1847 and 1848, during Mexico’s war with the United States over land in America’s southwest, he became Oaxaca’s acting Governor and was elected as the Governor. Juarez reduced corruption and built roads, public buildings, and schools. He organized the state national guard, and when he left office in 1852, the economy of Oaxaca was in good standing. His state government became renowned throughout Mexico for its honesty, spirit, and constructiveness. He also served as a lawyer, often helping the poor. Juarez was and still is known as a Mexican Liberal statesman and national hero.

Different Types of Tourism

By:  Terilyn Sandia

The type of tourism which I saw was extreme tourism; I choose this because I think it is best while there are different types of tourism. Tourism could not be a good thing in Mexico especially with the Tarahumaras. Yes, they make good money buy selling merchandises and trying to improve their health and to make a better living. Tourists like to travel but do they understand how it can affect an indigenous family. There are many ways to help the family to survive. It’s a good way to be selling and trying to make a living. But the danger is that some women lose their husbands interest in helping migration the boyfriends or the husbands of the Tarahumara’s start slacking off their farm work. They, make them seem they do not need their help because they are making good money.

        Tourists come to explore many of the beautiful sights that the Mexicans have, like the mountains. Tourism is not always harmful. The Americans come to see the culture and heritage of the Tarahumaras, or the city’s nice view, the shop in stores and see how the people survive or how they live. The Tarahumara’s love to see people come from all over the world. It makes them feel good to see how Americans do care for them. Especially to explore the canyons and caves, to also set eyes on other new sights, like petroglyphs and artifacts. Ruins and where the Tarahumara’s live in caves and rock cabins. It’s beneficial to indigenous people, because it helps them in a very difficult situation. The Tarahumaras are in a huge need of food or water or other supplies to help out their families. Tourism is not really harmful but they can lose other things that are important to their lives, and culture. Experiencing and seeing the people trying to make a living and not suffer and traveling to other cities and tribes. All there were Tarahumara’s their children who were on just not looked by their parents to help their family. In some cities store to store the children went in to ask for help to buy something. Many were ignored I tried to give them something to help them to eat or get themselves something to drink.

          At the copper canyon there were tourists from Texas, and Germany exploring how beautiful Mexico is, and Tarahumara’s were already set up ready to sell for the day. Its real great how people, travel to give help and care for the people to help and put into consideration to live in a better world to become better indigenous people. Yes, the Tarahumara’s have adapted to technology, technology is everything that you make like tools, electronics and buildings things. With the technology there’s no way that we would have anything like computers trying to see what will happen next. To the Tarahumara’s do not care about electronics. All they really need now is to stay strong and keep their culture alive. They need to have a better place to live, in a house with good water and planting goods! Hospitals and dentists also be of help, so they can adapt quicker.

Impacts of External Influences

       Many of the Tarahumara’s have an impact on their people’s lives. While in Mexico we visited Carachi and also visited some of the Tarahumara tribes. One of villages was called Tecorichi: The Tarahumara have a native language that is only spoken by the older generation in several communities. I saw that there were children who did not have any shoes at all. Plenty of children were scattered around selling merchandise to help out their family and running around. I was frightened to see them doing things like this, Experiencing and seeing these things made me feel how lucky I am to have a roof over my head and things to wear. It impacted me in such a way that I found myself thinking, “I wish there is something I can do to help the people out there.” It was really strange. I did not like seeing the poverty and worrying how they could survive without food.

         External influences are impacting to these native people. Tarahumara’s live in caves, under cliffs and in small wood and stone cabins in remote areas; they are Mexico’s second largest native Indian group with between 50,000 and 70,000 people. Tarahumara’s runners enter events such as the “Leadville 100 mile” in Colorado. Running in their tire soled sandals, then win some of the races.

The Tarahumara’s are being forced to participate in the cultivation of drugs by the drug lords, to grow marijuana and opium and they have no choice but to do it. A study in 1984 concluded that when children succeeded in completing primary school, they were likely to terminate the use of the Tarahumara language, eventually lose their native language. Only in preschool, through the third year of school, do they retain their native tongue, than learn Spanish. The children of the tribes are getting sick so they are at a high risk of getting tuberculosis and diabetes and this is an impact on the whole village with people dying near the villages and spreading illness throughout the city. It spreads like a virus and people start to get sick. It is really dangerous to live in an environment like this and once its spreads the whole population of the Tarahumara’s will be wiped out.

        Tarahumara’s were used as slaves to work in the silver mines. Still today they are treated like slaves, As we saw working in the apple fields. The challenge for the Raramuri communities today is to maintain and strengthen the role of the Tarahumara language in daily family and social life, As well as developing sustainable ways of economic and social self –suffiencey from the outside society. They are not well known, as few talk about their culture and religion. I think the ramauri are people with great intelligence, because they do not give up on their culture. And they are brave people who suffer and maintain to survive in the wilderness where there is no electricity. With what little money and food they have, they have learned in many ways how to raise their children and keep their babies in a safer environment.

Sustain and Successful Culture

By: Terilyn Sandia

          Education wise the Mexicans are learning English at the schools that we visited, At the Universidad of Durango and the High School of Cbtis. The schools we visited were fairly nice. In these schools that we observed into the classes they had were businesses, radio, television, culinary arts, also architecture. The Mexicans are trying to get a better education to be able to explore the world and see the many things that we enjoy seeing. The University of Durango is a day college. 900 college students attend the school and there are 800 students that attend the high school.

         There are a lot of things that could affect the culture of indigenous people going to school. This includes people all over the world. From my perspectives as a native person, indigenous people chose to maintain there culture because this is something asking related to my own culture, indigenous people won’t ever forget that they are natives. They sustain their culture in a good way. If you forget that you are a Native and indigenous person, you have nothing to live for in this world. Many indigenous people are successful in sustaining their culture. They do not let any technology get in their way. While learning, what they have to do is not get corrupted in the mind or spirit. Technology may affect every person, but they can choose to only use it wisely, to make contact with their loved ones in California or the other states. It may be good, but how could it success economy? There are many distractions and manipulations as to why, what, where?  People are curious around the world. If they see an indigenous person with technology, it affects seeing someone who seemed very religious. They think doesn’t that affect their culture? Won’t technology ruin their mind?  

Affecting and sustaining to the world 

The indigenous people and religious people who follow their traditions care nothing about how they should maintain to their society. Yet they try to contribute and see what is going on in the world with television. They do not care about what is so important in technology. Natives who really want to keep the culture alive are trying to involve people who think the world is important and trying to believe that there’s better in the world.

          Natives and indigenous people sustain culture by believing in what’s best to survive in a better village, tribe or community! They live up to one another and help out their natives with technology around. It’s too much to see the tradition of the indigenous people’s culture fade away. As it goes Natives to their lands there will be nothing more to talk about how depressing and devastating the Natives are to their religious dances, and traditions. This is also an impact to the indigenous people who think there is more to conquer in reality in to life, Than to decide what is more important to try to keep our traditions and cultures alive.

       “If so we are the best people to have ever walked on this planet. We are strong Indigenous people”.

US/ Mexico border Patrol

By: Terilyn Sandia

       My concerns about the US/ Mexico Border Patrol are that there need to be safety measures so that no one will be kidnapped. Also that there won’t be any transport of illegal drugs or weapons crossing the US / Mexico border past patrol security.

             Now that I‘ve made friends during the time that we stayed down in Durango, Chihuahua, Carachi, I feel that the people living in Mexico are in a very secure environment, yet they do not have a right to free speech.

            Mexico Border Patrol has very high security.  Homeland security provides safety. If there was no border patrol or Homeland security, the Mexican’s home will still be believed to be the same because the Mexican’s are good servants to their people and to the state of Mexico.

            At the US/ Mexico Border where we entered to Juarez there was not that much traffic. Driving back home, after enjoying our stay in Durango, Chihuahua, and Carachi Mexico seemed really secure with a very high homeland security where the high class of Mexicans live. But are many sections where there are people with no homes. Where it is not safe in middles class areas there where the were cops horse back riding around the plaza in every city that we. I personally think that Mexican people are looking out for things that they worked hard for in their jobs. To also graduate even to get into colleges. The people of the Mexico always make sure that they are safe by walking around in large groups of eight. Personally I believe that the US/ Mexico Border patrol are keeping from the immigrants coming in because they are scared that their community well be populated over Mexicans. But I do no understand why they have a border is a free state so I disagree over being in a fenced State.

Raynetta Loretto

What does it mean to serve?

By: Raynetta Loretto

On my visit to Mexico we saw a lot of different people serving others. Mexican people served us by feeding us and giving us places to stay. While we were in Mexico I learned that serving other people could be helpful to the world.

Before we went into Chihuahua we stop to exchange our American money into pesos, the lady who worked at the bank served us by helping us do that. She had to help every one of us. Even though we had a hard time speaking Spanish, she still understood us. So she was helpful.

Brian and Olga Appell were also serving us by letting us stay at Olga’s house in Durango. We stayed there for free for four days. While we were there in Durango we also had a lot of service around us. Many restaurants, stores, museums, and other places we went to served us, they had to put up with about 22 students who hardly speak Spanish and the people who owned the restaurants served us with no warning that we were going to go eat there. So the cooks had to rush and get us food as fast as they could. By doing that, it meant serving to me. There was a lot of good service in Mexico. People were so nice down there.

When we left Durango we went to Carachi and there was even more service in that little town. The people there were so nice. When we got there we went to a restaurant where we ate for free for three meals a day. We got Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. The food was good. It was like something new almost everyday.

After we ate they took us to this one place where they had cabins and we stayed there for 4 nights. I liked it because it was a beautiful place to be. The cabins were nice and they had a lot of nice things that we needed. While we were there we meet two of our hosts, Dr. Lachuga and Raul Granados-Vega. They were two men who really treated us well. These men showed us around the Sierra Madre Mountains. I really liked them. They really had respect for the Tarahumara people.

Dr. Lachuga wants to help the Tarahumara with their health. He wants to do a study and bring medical supplies that will help them with their health. So we were helping him think about what would be a good presentation that would make them stop drinking coke. The Tarahumara people drank a lot of coke. That all they had at their little stores in their villages. Everyday we hung out with the two guys, Dr. Lachuga and Raul we went to many places with them.

After 4 days, we left for to Chihuahua, and took Dr. Lachuga home. When we got to his house, his wife made lunch for us. We served him by taking him home, and his wife gave us service by cooking lunch for us. The lunch was good. It was weird trying different food, but I got used to it.

So there was a lot of good service in Mexico. The people there were nice even through we didn’t know some of them. So this is what it means to serve. In Mexico I learned a lot about service and how to help other people if they need help and they can help you back when you need help. 

Taking into consideration the conditions and situation of the tribal communities you visited compare and contrast the impacts (positive and negative) of external influences on the traditional lifestyle and beliefs of Indigenous people of Mexico and your tribe.

By: Raynetta Loretto

The indigenous Tarahumara people of Mexico have a bad and good side to their traditions and beliefs. Some Tarahumara men still dress in their traditional clothing. And most of the women the women dress in their traditional clothing. Some of their traditions are different from some other places in the world. And the Tarahumara people are different from the Mexico people. They are dark skinned and they often live in the mountains or in like cave like homes.

The Tarahumara people live in mountains where they grow their own food. Because of cattle their river water is not that good. So when they drink the water they get sick but they don’t have much health service. Some die from sickness and disease. Since they don’t live near any cities, they don’t have much money to buy some things they need.

Their children of Tecorichi walk a couple of hours just to get to school. They stay at school for 5 days and they can go home for the weekend. Some students don’t even get to go home, they just stay at school. I feel sorry for them because they don’t really get to see their parents only on some special times.

The Tarahumara people do a lot of walking. They even walk up to three hours just to go to church. The churches that they go to are kind of old and nice. Maybe some of the Tarahumara people built some of those churches.

They also spend some time alone, far away. And this is where the outside forces get negative. We saw some wait for the bus to get to a near city and go shopping. Some of the Tarahumara people were sent by the Spanish to the sliver mine to mine some sliver. The Tarahumara people were slaves for a lot of different things. They were even run out of their lands and ended up in the mountains, where they live right now. And that is a negative impact.

They have at least about 121,835 people that live in their home places. At least 87,721 people speak their own language. There are 62 indigenous groups in Mexico. But some of the Tarahumara people move to other cities to get a better job and other things like that. But when they move farther away from their homes they start to lose their traditions.

The Tarahumara people do some cultural things before Easter and for Easter day. They have some drum beatings that go for like two weeks or so. On Easter they dance. They have similar dances to some places in New Mexico that some other pueblo tribes.

The Tarahumara people play some games. This one game that the boys play is they kick a wooden ball around and the loser gets closer to their god. The girls also have a game that they play. They use some sticks and a hoop that they turn and throw and they run after it and keep it going. I hope that outside forces don’t stop the Tarahumara from continuing these old and wonderful traditions 

How can Indigenous people sustain culture and be economically successful?

By: Raynetta Loretto

Indigenous people can sustain their culture and be economically successful by selling things that they make; such as jewelry, baskets, pottery, and weaving. Most of the indigenous people are very artistic. They can sell and make different things, like daily things and natural things. They use a lot of different items that we can find in and around the house. The indigenous people also buy some things that they might need for arts and crafts. This way, when they go to other towns to sell their crafts, they can make more money. So, by selling their crafts they can get successful and also sustain their culture.

When indigenous people go to school and get an education they can use that in the towns they go to and also use their cultural things. By going to school they learn more and they can help out their people in their tribes, like our guide, Innocenta Flores, wants to do. By helping their people out, the person who went to school can go to a different town and get what the tribe needs. Some tribes need some doctors other need clean water. Many indigenous people can improve their culture without harming their culture. By doing this they can both the things that they learn and keep practicing their traditions.  
 

4.) What different types of tourism did you see? Is tourism beneficial to Indigenous people? Is it harmful? Which type of tourism do you feel is the best approach for Indigenous people?

By: Raynetta Loretto

While we were in Mexico I saw a lot of different types of tourism in Mexico. When we went to different towns in Mexico we saw different types of tourism. While we were visiting in Mexico we were different types of tourist. We were culture tourism, educational tourism. We learned about indigenous people in Mexico. Their lifestyles and cultural beliefs. Also we learned the way that the Mexican people live. Some of the Mexico cities have running water lights and other things. When we went to different cities some people lived in different ways.

I liked some places that we went to I learned a lot about the sites in Mexico. In Mexico we visited Museums, Churches, Sliver Mine, Copper Canyon, Sierra Madre Mountains and schools. I learned a lot but some places I didn’t really get enough information to understand the history. When we were visiting the Tarahumara people they were selling their art and crafts that they made to us. By selling their arts and crafts they are making money. We also study the way the Tarahumara people lived. They have a different way of lifestyle. They live in the Sierra Madre Mountains but they live in caves in the mountains and some houses.

So this was what I learned while I was in Mexico and what other types of tourism I saw in Mexico

Now that you’ve made friends and connections in Mexico, express how you feel about homeland security, border patrols and building walls along the US/Mexico border?

By: Raynetta Loretto

The people that I met in Mexico were nice and friendly. The places that we went to were different. They have some nice things that they can use. When we were at the school in Mexico, I meet two girl students. They were nice. I enjoyed talking to them, even though they were just learning how to speak English and I was just learning how to speak Spanish. Some of the other students tried to help me speak Spanish. I asked if they would come to the US. They said that they want to, but at the same time they didn’t have any visas or anything like that to come to the US and also because of the cost of things.

Sometimes I think that the border is kind of a good and bad thing at the same time. Because some of the people that come here in the US can cause some damage. But some of the people just want to come to the US and find something better or to live a better lifestyle. So this is one of the reasons that the border should be gone. But at the same time there are some people that don’t belong in the US.  

So this is why I think that the border can be a good and bad thing, because some can come across the border and maybe find a better job and lifestyle, while some can’t come to the US because they can’t afford it. That’s why some people try to get over the border without the border patrol to knowing about it.

So this is why there are some people that take the Mexicans over the border and get paid a lot and keep on trying to not get caught. Some of the Mexicans can also go through the desert to get to the US. They jump over the border to get to the US. At the US and Mexico border we saw a lot of military protecting the border to make sure that one body gets over the border who isn’t supposed to be in the US. While we were leaving/entering Mexico and the US, we had to go through about 5 check points including the US/Mexico border. We didn’t get checked at any of them. If we did, it could have taken longer to leave Mexico. But it was our luck that they didn’t do that.

It was a fun trip, except some of the people in Mexico were poor and I didn’t like it because I felt sorry for them.

Scott Toledo

                                        What does it mean to serve?

Based on your readings, site visits and guest presentation in Mexico, describe and explain three examples of service to others, a community and/or tribe that you learned about.

Critical Question One

By Scott Toledo

  The teachers from our school served by taking the students to Mexico. The teachers in Mexico served by staying with the students at a school in the middle of nowhere. Teachers would take care of the students when the students would stay at the school, and that was most of the time.

  Manvel David Aranda served us by feeding us at his restaurant. He also served us by letting us stay at his cabins that he owned. Mr. Appell also served us by showing around Durango, and letting us into his house.

 We met Dr. Hector Lechuga and he served us by showing us the villages of the Tarahumara. Hector Lechuga is trying to help the Tarahumara.

A lot of people in Mexico served us by trying to talk to us. We ate at many different places, and all the people there served us by giving us what we had asked for.

What we learned from are reading was that Emiliano Zapata, Benito Juarez, Pancho Villa all served their country. Mexico had a lot of people that served. Mexico had many people that are willing to help their country even if they died.

We learned about Pancho Villa, and how he served by taking from the rich and giving to the poor. Pancho Villa fought for the poor. He wanted the people from his county to be free and did not want corrupt politicians in control. He served with his death and for that he is famous because with his death people started to fight back.

 To serve somebody is to do something, say something, anything that might be able to help. Many people want to help but some people don’t want to help. Everybody has a different thing that they will be able to help with.

I like the fact that the teachers took the time to go to Mexico. I like that the tribe helped pay for the trip, it allowed some people to go that might not have been be able to pay for the whole trip.

  The Carichi mayor provided a security/guide car for Waltowa High Charter School in order to make our visit safe. The Carichi comboys made lunch for us in the mountains they also took us to some hot springs. The people of Carichi had a party for us just before we left the town. They played music and they made a lot of food for us.

  A lot of people served on our trip to Mexico. They served by taking the time to make this trip, they also served by getting everything ready for us.

  At UMSU and in Durango the college students served by taking the time to talk to us. About what college is going to be like. They also talked about what we should know before going to college, and what classes we might want to be taking.

  Some Waltowa students served by giving the Tarahumara kids clothes and other things like stuffed animals and we gave the Tarahumara people money that might be able to help them.

 We had a Tarahumara native Guide who spoke Raramuri and Spanish. She was able to talk to the Tarahumara and then talk to us in Spanish, then Mr. Appell would tell us what she said in English.

Many people served us in Mexico and many did not get anything from us but they are still able to serve us.

Critical Question Two

 Impacts of External Influences

By Scott Toldeo

  External influences affect a lot of things, they changes the way that people live. External influences are mostly bad and negative, but there are some that might help a person or a whole community.

  When the Spanish went to Mexico, they brought many different diseases. The Spanish wanted all the land for themselves. The Spanish tried to change the religion of the indigenous people.

 Years after all this happened, the Spanish was enslaving natives in silver mines. The trade routes sent slaves and bought slaves to and from different counties. Slaves made up a large population and with the Spanish ruling over Mexico it was hard for a native to be able do what they wanted.

  When the Spanish found New Spain a lot changed. The Tarahumara moved form the plain into the mountains. The Tarahumara had to learn how to live in their new home because it was different. The Tarahumara moved to different villages though the mountains.

  The lack of today money and the drought are sending many of the Tarahumara people to the cities. When the Tarahumara people go to the cities they get sick from diseases because they don’t have good immunity systems.

  The Tarahumara are still slaves because the drug lords make them grow marijuana and opium, poppies.

  Now Mexico is trying to get all the Tarahumara villages clinics to help, but not many of the people use them because they don’t have a way to get there. They die because they don’t go see a doctor as often as they should.

 Many of the Tarahumara don’t have birth certificates. They don’t know how many are alive or how many are dead. The Tarahumara are getting help by many different people. We met a few of the people trying to help. Dr. Hector Lechuga was trying to help the Tarahumara’s by trying to finding a way to get all the Tarahumara people good nutrition  because that might be a reason a lot of the Tarahumara are dying.

  The parents want to get a lot of food without paying too much because they don’t get that much. A lot of the money they get is from making things. Money comes from people that give them money.

  We went to see the Tarahumara’s and even that has an impact for somebody down there to see a class of students from the United States. Dr. Hector Lechuga went to the United States to become a doctor and he is making a impact for the Tarahumara’s.

Many impacts have hit the Tarahumara’s, One of the biggest impacts that hit is the Spanish because if it was not for them I don’t think that the Tarahumara people would have all of their culture. Many of the people want to escape the way that they live but they don’t have a good education and because of that most can’t leave. A lot of the people have never have seen a city or even been off their land. 

  Jemez has had external impacts, but we are able to get out of the situation. The Tarahumara are just now getting help with water, and many other living conditions, from Mexico.

How can indigenous people of Mexico sustain their culture and be economically successful?                 

By Scott Toledo

  The indigenous people of Mexico can have culture and be economically successful.

Practice your tradition more often and practice your native language. Some indigenous tribe isolate themselves from most of society.

  They need to get a education to get a way to plan, a way to get money or as a culture grow to where they can get money for the whole tribe and hire some of the tribe members to work all at the same place to get them a start for their family. The Tarahumara sell things like pottery, baskets, necklace, and many other things.

  The Tarahumara are a great example of isolation. They mostly live far from many cites or little towns. The Tarahumara people live poor mostly because they do live far away and they live unhealthy lives. They can’t get to clinics but if they can they don’t because they might not have a birth certificate or don’t believe in going.

  When the Tarahumara people go to cities they don’t have there kids go to school mostly because they are on the move a lot. The children go around trying to ask people for money that might help their family.

  To be economically successful most Tarahumara move to the cities trying to find a job that might pay low or might have to sell the things that they make. Where few other people might be selling because that might be the best way to make money because with many people they have a better shot at selling and making money.

  The Tarahumara people can sustain culture by living in their own village away from huge cities or have a good way to keep people far away, the problem with this that they won’t be that economically successful.

  It is hard for any group of indigenous people to be both economically successful and sustain their culture. Indigenous tribes ether can be about culture or about making money. The way that a tribe tries to run with a idea can affect how well it is going to be, and how they will be doing it.

  The Tarahumara lost a lot of land  and they had to move far into the mountains. I think that the Tarahumara lost their chance to get money because they are so far in the mountains. I think they have a lot of cuture but not much money to show for it.

The Tarahumara had to move from plains to mountains because this the Mexican government does not know how many people die every year.

  The money that the villages get help them with the schools and they make schools for the children. The tribes want the new youth to get a good education to help the tribe with money or so that they can live better.

  The families that don’t have money go to the cities with their kids and try to get money. The Tarhumara want the kids of that go to cities to get money if they have to get a job or if they have to ask for money, that is how little money that they have they need to send their kids out to help them with getting money so that they can eat. 

Critical Question 4

Building on your understanding of tourism and what you saw, experienced and learned about tourism on the trip?

By Scott Toledo

A) What different types of tourism did you see?

 The class did cultural, adventure, and education tourism. We saw many different things that had to do with culture, the Tarahumara were the best example of culture tourism because they showed us their culture and we saw the way that many of them live.

 Adventure tourism is that we when down to Mexico to see the different parts of Mexico, we saw copper canyon and we saw the rock that are shaped like mushrooms.

 Education is a big deal down in Mexico because the kids need to get an education so that they will have a good job in Mexico. The school system in Mexico had been teaching the students how to speak three different languages so that the students in the future can get a better chance of making money and it is important to do this so Mexico can communicate with other countries.

 B) Is tourism beneficial to indigenous people? Is it harmful?

 Yes, tourism helps the indigenous people of Mexico. They get money from selling everything that they make. Tourism is also harmful to the Tarahumara when they have any there culture exposed out to the world when the try to keep it to themselves.

C) Which type of tourism do you feel is the best approach for indigenous people?

 I think that adventure tourism would be the best for the Tarahumara. The Tarahumara know the area where they live; they should take people out a little way from the villages to see sights like copper canyon. The Tarahumara can take people that want to explore out to the places where nobody is living.

Tour ism is every where in the world and can be used for making money for something important. Mexico makes a lot of money by tourism only but the place where we went doesn’t get much money because it makes money near the beach. Money is mostly made near the beach because the people that go to Mexico fly to the beach because they said it is more fun.

Tourism is good and bad it can affect how people act, trying to make a living and making money for their families. Tourism is good the people trying to make money for their selves the Mexican people can start a business and their families would help with the making and selling.

 Tourism can be bad the Tarahumara learn Spanish and they might forget their Language and culture. Many of the Tarahumara are selling everyday trying to get money some leave their village to try and get a better life many don’t they might die trying to make it into a cite.

Tourism is good for the economy and help a person that try to get money. When I when down to Mexico I was feeling bad for all the Tarhumara people that can’t get their kids much nice things. It made me realizes that this was one village trying to get tourism to help with money problems many other villages want to try and get a better education or a better life and maybe tourism is the only way that they might have life. 

Critical Question 5

Now that you’ve made friends and connections in Mexico, express how you feel about homeland security, border patrols and building walls along the US/Mexico border?

By Scott Toledo

 I have made friends in Mexico and I think that it has made me change my mind on the border and homeland security. I feel that the US/Mexico border is a good and bad thing. It helps keep jobs for Americans that might need it to get money. It is a bad thing for the Mexican people that need money, they want to help their families. Some people use Mexican workers and pay them little money but that money can be used for the families that need the money. Many of the people that don’t get an education are probably the people that want to cross the boarder. I think the United States is unhappy about the Mexicans coming in to the United States. Going in to Mexico was easy it would take a few a minutes to past the broader. But coming back was long it took an hour for the class to get back into the United States we stayed in line for the whole time.

 There are still many places that are going to try to make bigger stronger broader to stop all people from coming across the boarded. People get stopped from crossing the broader everyday. It shows that people in Mexico try to cross the broader to get a better life.

 People think the United States is a great country but they don’t know is what they will do when they get here. Some are sent back by people that see them around. Others are sent to Mexico when companies that hire them are raided by the cops and there are many places do this and they don’t get paid a lot of money. If somebody gets hurt a work it is likely that they won’t go to a hospital but instead might get fired.

 The boarder is what separates two countries from people that might be a threat to ether country. People are kidnapped from across the boarder for money that the families will pay for them back. This happened in both countries and a lot of people are affected by this.

 I feel that letting some people across the boarder every day to work a little distance over the boarder might be a good idea but only if the people doing this are willing to work equally with each other and not try to run away.

 Many of the ideas that people get are not given a chance if it is over the boarder. A lot of people would like to work in the United States many have different reasons, one reason for a lot of people might be getting the money, or they might want to get help for a family member.

 The boarded should stay because everything is going to go in its own direction and this is going to. There are many people that watch over the boarder like the army and there are cities that are next to the boarder and they are not that affected by this.

 Homeland security is watching the broader closely to make sure that nothing is going to happen that will affect the American system.

 There are many places that people can cross the boarder in other states and every in New Mexico the places where people get across like desserts they climb fences they are willing to try any thing to get over the boarder.

Maurianna Loretto

What does it mean to serve?

To serve is to give assistance to others in as many ways as you can possibly think of, to give your own time, and to put others before yourself. It is selflessness. Being there for a person to talk to is serving, because you are making them feel better by letting them express their feelings and you listening and giving back advice. To serve is to help anyone, regardless of their race, sex, or disabilities. It is having the desire to make a

difference, a safe environment, and giving opportunities. Most of all, to serve is the act of being helpful.

Before we left to Mexico, we learned about leaders who served- like Pancho Villa, Benito Juarez, and Father Miguel Hidalgo. I think I was most impressed with Father Miguel Hidalgo because he was a Creole priest from Dolores who helped out indigenous Mexicans. He urged Mexicans to fight for independence from Spain. He was inspired by the American Revolution and he wanted freedom for all people.

Mexicans were startled when Hidalgo gave his urgent appeal, a speech which is known as “el Grito de Dolores,” meaning the cry of Dolores. The Mexicans were convinced to fight for their independence and liberty. After Hidalgo gave his speech the Mexicans followed him, marching through out Mexico City.

Hidalgo made some Creoles support the revolt but they rejected him because he wanted to improve conditions for Native Americans. Father Hidalgo was captured and executed.

Tecorichi was one of the tribes, or a small village, of the Tarahumara people. We visited two schools- the first school was a shack-like structure that was a school and a home for the teacher. The teacher taught pre-school.

 The other school that we visited served pre-school to sixth grade. The students were from the Tarahumara area and stayed at the school until the weekends came, then walked back home. They were sheltered and fed throughout the week.

The teachers are really making a big impact on the students by trying to educate them and they come from far away, giving six years of their young lives to teach and help the Tecorichi children. The teachers lived near the school. They had to learn the language to teach the children but they taught all the classes in Spanish.

I observed the school. It was made out of boards. They had no school book that they exactly followed, and they were in need of school supplies. The school needed supplies like tables, desks, paper, pencils, and chairs, everything, but still the teachers looked grateful. When the students were getting ready to eat, they went by a stream and washed their hands. I felt sorry for the school, but I felt better when I saw the new school that they were building. The teachers and the students will thrive better in a healthier environment.

We met a man named Dr. Hector Lechuga. He is an epidemiologist, studying among indigenous people. He went to school at UNM. He lives in a small town near Carichi and he is studying the diet and health conditions of the Tarahumara people. Dr. Lechuga made our visit very interesting. He wants us, the Jemez, Tarahumara, and Carichi people to unite, so that we can trust, learn, and help each other. He said having us  visit would help him by our observing and giving back information when he asked us questions.

To me, what I think Dr. Lechuga is doing is a great example of service but it is going to take a long time to get his project going. How he wants to improve the health conditions of the Tarahumara people because they live in remote areas. I saw babies that looked sick and in need of good nutrition and water is very scarce. Dr. Lechuga told us that the Tarahumara people had poor health, poor water supplies and poor hygiene. Babies lack nourishing foods and from the lack of water they’d get dehydrated and caused diarrhea. Tuberculosis is the number one disease among them. Dr. Lechuga thinks that malnutrition is being caused by the introduction of western foods.

Dr. Lechuga is very passionate about making a difference in the Tarahumara area, but it is going to take a long time. He is one of the persons that I think gave a lot of service, because he made our trip possible. We were guided throughout our trip in Carichi by Dr.Lechuga, Chenta, Innocenta Flores, Raul Granados-Vega, and the sheriffs of Carichi. Chenta was a translator for the Tarahumara Indians, she wants badly to go to college but she doesn’t have any kind of support. Raul was the head of all chiefs in Carichi.  The Mayor of Carichi also gave us a lot of service. Manuel Aranda was the owner of the restaurant called El Zaguam and the cabins that we were sheltered and fed in for the four days that we were there. He was very nice, and we had no expense to pay.  

The staff that went a long with us on our Mexico trip like Appell, Mrs. Appell, Ms.Phelan, Mr.Gachupin, and Rose Shendo served us students because they took their personal time out of work and their families. They put up with the students, making decisions, and planning everything that we were going to do throughout the trip.

There were a lot of different services that I saw throughout my trip to Mexico and in my own community. I think that we all had an impact on each other. This is really the start of something that is going to last, the relationship that we have built and which we will keep building upon.

The impacts (negative and positive) of external influences on the traditional lifestyle and beliefs of Indigenous people- Tarahumara Indians and Jemez Pueblo

There are always negative and positive impacts on indigenous people. One traditional lifestyle of the Jemez people would be using the fields to plant because that’s the reason you have a field, you can’t just leave it unused. Growing on our fields gives us food to eat- the natural way of producing and eating healthier. A belief that goes with using the fields would be water usage. When the whole pueblo uses their fields and the water to irrigate, the government won’t take away our water rights but a positive impact would be getting more water rights.

An external impact that I learned reading about the Tarahumara Indians was that the Spanish conquistadors tried driving them off their nomadic lands, although they never conquered them. They tried showing them their Catholic ways, it is an event that we both had in common and affected our people. In our pueblo, there are two beliefs that we go by, our own Hemish beliefs and Catholicism; we were impacted by the Spaniards by making Catholicism a part of our religion.

The Tarahumara Indians have symbols of Christ in their beliefs.  They have a blend of Christ and their god, who is called Onoruame. They believe in every person having a soul and being surrounded by good and bad forces, like our Jemez beliefs. We both know the ways of Catholicism and we attend church.

An external and negative influence that I read about was the Mexican deforestation of the Sierra Madres. The Sierra Madres belong to the Tarahumara Indians and some legal and illegal practices are taking their timber- making it into plywood, paper, and pulp, exporting it to the U.S. Logging is very bad for the ecosystem that the Tarahumara rely on.

The Norcostraficantes are people who illegally burn the forests to plant acres of marijuana and opium plants. They also force the Tarahumara Indians to grow their drug crops and death is an answer to those who refuse. The bad and sad thing is that the United States are buying the wood, making a contribution. The drugs that the Norcostraficantes grow end up in the streets of America.

With the logging and plantation of illegal drugs, the forests are being destroyed. The Mexican government makes little attempt to restore their forests, making plants and species disappear, making erosion a bigger problem, and the Tarahumara Indians are the ones that have to face the destruction in their culture.

Slavery was a big issue among indigenous people in the past. The Tarahumara were captured and forced to work in mines. They mined for any material that they could find but especially for silver. Tarahumara worked under brutal and unhealthy conditions, without pay and being fed. Working for long hours and breathing in particles that would cause black lungs and other diseases of the lungs, made their lives every short. It is believed that some Jemez men were forced to work in these mines because they rebelled against the Spanish.

The Tarahumara Indians now go to the cities to find jobs to support themselves and their families, either by selling their own art or getting a stable job. Another reason why Tarahumara Indians go into the cities is because of the drought that has been going on for eleven years. I think that it is good that the Tarahumara want to get jobs to support their families, but it is causing problems. One problem is that they are getting diabetes because the food that they are eating isn’t their natural diet. This is a problem on our pueblo as well as the Tarahumara genetically allergic to the food, which weakens their immune systems, causing them to get different kinds of diseases, especially the drug-resistant, tuberculosis, which is fatal.

When the Tarahumara go into the cities, they see all the different types of technology. Technology to me is a negative impact, because it causes laziness. Technology affects all people and although it makes life seem to go by faster and easier, it stops us from being active.    

The hotels and restaurants and the little towns nearby are good impacts because the Tarahumara could get jobs. The towns offer jobs which the Tarahumara could work for, to get about 5 dollars a day. A bad impact on the Tarahumara men is that the women are working by selling their artwork and the men stop farming because their women make enough to support their families. The men are demeaned from this, it gives them a lot more time to do anything and one problem would be getting bored and drinking alcohol, also getting lazy to work and plant on their farms.   

There are always going to be negative and positive impacts on Indigenous people and we just have to try in every way we can to improve conditions, follow our traditions, to better ourselves and our communities.              

How Indigenous people can sustain their culture and be economically successful

Indigenous people can sustain their culture and be economically successful by not relying on outside sources. Our pueblo is self-sufficient which makes us sovereign. Keeping our traditions, culture, and language alive will make us a stronger community because we will be more self-reliant.

There are many ways to sustain a culture and to be economically successful like being able to arrange and function, organize, with the many thrifty and efficient useful ways of resources. To be self-reliant is being able to run our own production and distribution, and to consume from our own goods and services.

Being self-reliant is to run our own pueblo- using our own language and morals. We can be self-reliant in computers, technology, and education, in selling our own products, lobbying the government, and promoting tourism.

Our tradition which is not written but it is instructed within Jemez society from generation to generation. It is not recorded or photographed which makes us unique because we pass our culture down orally. We inherit everything we know; it is passed down to us by mouth. The songs, dances, traditional costumes, which we hold in our culture, are secretive and scared. Keeping our culture alive will only make us stronger and noticeable throughout the world. 

Education is very important, because we’ll be educated individuals who can survive and communicate within our own community and the outside world. Education really is the key to success, it opens up many doors, and it could get us far. We are really fortunate to have an education system in our own pueblo and in the U.S. I think that it is good that a law passed saying that every child should attend schools. We have many opportunities in the U.S. and many ways to get scholarships for higher education we saw that in Mexico, they have schools but if you want to go to college, you’d have to pay for it yourself. In Tecorichi their schools were made out of boards and barely had anything.

We have a stable school, education system, and a healthy environment. We have the technology like computers and other resources to help us with school. We have a lot of opportunities that I think we should make use of, because others are given nothing. What we learn in school and in college we can bring back to our community and teach, to give back.

Selling products is one way to be successful. We can sell products like our pottery, traditional clothing, goods grown from the fields, baskets, and lumber & fire wood. There are a lot of potters in Jemez who sell their art. Some are known around the world for their fine artistry. Another way to be successful is running our own businesses like the C-store, Visitor Center, and the Woodland Initiative which provides lumber we can consume from. I think that we could improve more in tourism, like giving tours to sites and hiking which we’d have control and rights to protect- to let tourists go sight seeing but also to protect the places we wouldn’t want them to go. I think that the casino would be excellent for our economy if it was built because we would derive a lot of money from it and improve any conditions that we have.     

We have the right to ask for what we want by lobbying governments. We need to be heard, to stand out, and say what we want to say but the in right ways.  We want a casino built and we have been working on that, if more of our own people spoke out about it, we’d get more federal agencies to support us.

These are some of the many ways to sustain a culture and be economically successful and I think that we indigenous people could improve and grow in many ways- economically, but we are only starting to face challenges and create better systems for ourselves.                           

Based on what you saw during the trip, learned, or experienced- What different types of tourism did you see? Is tourism beneficial or harmful to Indigenous people? Which type of tourism is the best approach for Indigenous people?

The different types of tourism that I saw during my trip to Mexico were adventure tourism, cultural tourism, educational tourism, business tourism, and ecotourism. I saw some people mountain biking, we jumped in a river, and went to a hot spring. Our trip included most of the types of tourism- the museums that we visited, art that we saw, going through the Tarahumara area, riding horse, swimming, and the main point of us going was because of education.

            The museum that I was most interested and amazed by was the Pancho Villa Museum.  It was Pancho Villa’s house until his wife gave it to the city of Chihuahua and converted into a museum. We saw his whole house- his kitchen, dining room, bedrooms, bathroom, a weapon room full of guns and canons they used, and other rooms that had his personal belongings like the hats he wore, weapons he used, a room showing pictures of his death and how he died, escapes tunnels that he had in his house, a room of Villa and his crew in a documentary room, we saw a lot of interesting material of him and his ‘Villatistas’. We also saw the vehicle that he was shot in. I liked the museum, it was very interesting, I especially liked the mural that was painted on the one side of his wall, and it was beautiful and very descriptive of what happened during the time of the revolution.

            I think that tourism is beneficial to indigenous people because it gives the visitors an insight into how we live; but we control the information about our culture, language, and traditions. People are curious and interested in other cultures; I think that tourism is helpful because they learn all the different things about us, indigenous people, and maybe want to help us with the things we need help with. Tourism helps indigenous people reveal the different aspects of their culture.

            Tourism is beneficial because we could make a good production off of it, like the Arts and Crafts show, our feast days, the visitor center, and getting new people that haven’t been here before and telling others about Jemez Pueblo.

The annual Arts and Crafts show at the Red Rocks attracts a lot of tourism which is beneficial because Jemez people, as well as other native artists who enter, sell their art work. There is a fee that has to be paid by all the visitors. It is a good source of tourism because they come to but art, try our Indian food, and watch traditional dances. It goes on for two days and on the second day there is a pow wow.  Another beneficial way of tourism is on our feast days when tourists come to see our dances, artwork, and eat at friends or the little hamburger stands that are around. We benefit from our feast days because the people who want booths have to pay and are given rules to follow like the ones you see before you enter our pueblo.

            Tourism can be beneficial in many ways, but I don’t think it is when you invade privacy or go somewhere you are not allowed, it is all about showing and giving respect. When we went through the Tarahumara area, I kind of felt like we were invading privacy, especially at a cave that a woman lived in. She had her artwork to sell and her cave wasn’t just a cave but also her home. I know that she let people come to see her cave and the way she lived, because it was beneficial to her to let tourists see her cave and maybe she could sell her artwork. I think it was good that she benefited from it, but I also thought, “what if we were invading her privacy?” This is one way that I think tourism is harmful.

            I think that ecotourism is the best approach for indigenous people because it is a responsible form of travel to natural places; it conserves the environment and improves the welfare of the local people. Ecotourism is supposed to conserve and improve the places you visit. The people and the environment have to benefit from ecotourism. Tourists can come to our pueblo, but without harming our environment, and going to places that they aren’t allowed to go to.

Now that you’ve made friends and connections in Mexico… What do you feel about homeland security, border patrols and building walls along the US/Mexico border?

            The U.S. and Mexico share a 1,969 mile border. I think that it should be guarded and secured for the well-being of both countries. The border is crossed legally and illegally.  Our federal agents are the ones who are guarding the border most of the time and some of them are killed by drug smugglers. This is one main reason that the border should be guarded against the drugs that are being imported into the U.S.

            Mexicans head towards the U.S. in search of better lives. As I read in a newspaper article, there is a power struggle in Mexico between haves and have-nots, it is what most of their people think is the case. There are outbreaks of violence, a drug war, trade inequalities, and immigration along the border.

            Immigration is a “global labor supply issue,” as stated in the article. There are people who want to come to the U.S. to work, but there aren’t enough channels for them to come into the United States legally. The police of Mexico patrol the border to check if their citizens have the proper documents to come into the U.S. and to prevent them from crossing if they don’t. I think if Mexicans, like some of the students we met, want to come to the U.S. to better their lives and futures it is right, but only if they do it legally, it’ll just make things easier for them.

            The Mexican government wants the U.S. to help them stop the shipments of illegal arms being imported by drug cartels. The U.S. should enforce the security of the border because of the illegal things that are being imported like drugs, illegal arms, and animals. The animals that are being imported could have diseases and parasites. This is a big issue for U.S. agriculture.

            What goes on along border really is not that important to me because I don’t think that it affects me in anyway, unless terrorism is involved but other than that we share the border with Mexico and with that we have shared issues and responsibilities. We have to try to understand their concerns as they do ours, and work together.

Mary Beth Toya

What does it mean to serve?

Mary Beth Toya

To me serving is giving your empowerment or ability to help others in need. The first people to serve our group would be Mr. Brian Appell and Mr. Kevin Shendo. Even though Mr. Shendo didn’t go with us on our trip, he had a lot to do with setting up and organizing the whole trip. Mr. Appell would stay after hours of work just so that he could arrange all the times and dates. He did a lot of service, which not everyone thanks him for, but for me personally, I think that everyone needs to be rewarded in some way.

Another person who served us was Baldimoro Vasquez Bernal, the mayor of Carichi. The mayor of the city really helped us a lot when we were down there. He had set us up all three of the course meals for us: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. All the food we had was great! They served us very well. The mayor also had reserved us two big cabins for all four days, which saved us a huge expanse of getting a place to stay at. The last day we had a huge BBQ they set up for us, they also had a Mariachi band play for us. Some people were dancing and we just had so much fun while we spent the last afternoon we had in Carichi.

Dr. Hector Luchuga is another person who guided us those four days we were in Carichi. Dr. Luchuga is a really nice, respected man. He was so respectful to everyone. He was so nice that the four days we were in Carichi we went to go see the Tarahumara so we could see how they live and how they get through life. We visited two different schools of the Tarahumara kids. One school was just a small little cabin. Inside were two large blankets where the kids could sit. There was a wood stove, a bed, and a chalk board. There were very few books. Another school is being built.

Dr. Luchuga is a man who studied to become a doctor. He studied at UNM, to become an Epidemiologist; a disease detective. He became an epidemiologist so he could help the Tarahumara women, who are so cautious of their young ones. They don’t want them to get sick. Dr. Luchuga makes little money because of the choices he makes. His choice is to help the Tarahumara people. He could be getting paid lots of money working in hospitals but he chooses not to. He would rather be helping the Tarahumara people.

Innocenta Flores was with us the four days we were in Carichi. She helped us a lot when we were there. She translated for us in both the Spanish and Tarahumara languages. She wants to become a sociologist, she wants to go to school to study to become what she wants but she can’t because she doesn’t have the money to pay for her schooling. Before we left from Carichi, Mr. Appell and some of the others gave her some money to get started in saving up some money. Oga and Mr. Appell also told her she could go to the University of Lobo in Durango, and if she was to go to school there she could stay at their house which is not that far from where the college is located. She could be what she wants to be, if money doesn’t get in her way of achieving her dream.

  We are lucky in the US that we get all these opportunities to become what we want. But not everyone takes their opportunities to become the best that I can be. I want to get into the best medical school if I can so that I can serve people. So many take their opportunities for granted, not everyone sticks to what they really need to become successful in life. When you go to school in Mexico you don’t receive any scholarships to go to school where you can proceed in what you want to become. Some US students are lucky to get rewarded a scholarship to a school of their choice.

Impact of outside Influences on the Indigenous people of Mexico

By Mary Beth Toya

The first major outside influence on the indigenous people of Mexico sailed across the ocean from Spain. Hernan Cortez was the conquistador who led the conquest of Mexico in the year 1519.Cortez was part of the generation of Spanish colonizers who begin the first phase of the Spanish Colonization.  The Spanish colonization of the American occurred between 1492 and 1898. Spain wanted to rule the hemisphere.

Aztec is the ethic group of central Mexico, Nahuatl. The capital of the Aztecs was the city of Tenochtitlan. The city was built on top of a huge lake, it was known as the city of gold. The temples were majestic and they were built in the form of towers and fortress. Others were all whitewashed and wonderfully brilliant. Back in the 1400’s, stories were being told all around the world. When the stories of the city of gold were being told, Hernan Cortez heard that there was a city of rich empires in gold. Men like Cortez were attracted by the promise and riches as well as religious zeal, and the flood of adventures that soon were to be followed.

After Hernan Cortez heard the stories, he just had to seek El Dorado. He left Spain with 600 men, and with 16 horses, and a few cannons. After a long journey, Cortez reached Tenochtitlan, the city of gold. He was amazed he acted so nice and innocent, than later he took advantage of the city. The city was seized to follow all the commands of Cortez.

Cortez forced the people of Tenochtitlan to become more Christianized. They had to change their lifestyle ways. They had to change their customs of jewelry; their golden ornaments they wore had to be off at all times. Moctezuma, the emperor of the city, welcomed Cortez to the city. Then when they were friendly (for the people thought he was a god who once left the city,) Cortez took advantage of the Aztecs. He had to be obeyed by the people of Tenochtitlan. After all that fighting with the city, the Spanish took over the city of Tenochtitlan. Europeans unknowingly carried diseases such as smallpox, measles, and influenza which the Native Americans had no immunity to. T native populations in the Caribbean Islands, then later on the population of the Native Americans declined radically in the 1500’s.

La Malinche was also a part of the conquest of Tenochtitlan. She was the one who was the translator and also the Adviser of Cortez. She had to learn the Spanish language so she could interact with the people. She wanted to help Cortez with the attack against Tenochtitlan because some people didn’t agree with the overlords of the Aztecs. She didn’t agree with it either. So she taught that she could be helped as well.

 More than 300 years would pass before native president In 1857 Benito Juarez wrote a constitution that granted the Indigenous people the freedom of religion, finally overthrowing the outside influence of the Catholic Church affected by the negative outside influence of the Spanish conquest.

The Native Americans were also the villages of New Mexico were torn apart because the Spanish thought that one of the villages was hiding gold. So the Spanish came into New Mexico to seek the gold. But when the Spanish came they didn’t just bring men to seek for the gold they also brought in the missionaries. The people of the villages had to become Christian just like the Aztecs did. But that all ended when the villages all attacked the Spaniards. The Indians fought for their rights and for their own religions. They didn’t want to follow others people’s orders, so they came together as one and united and freed their communities from all the Spaniards.

Parral was one of the cities with a city with a silver mine, which started in 1567. At first the miners were mostly of Indian slaves lead into the Tarahumara lands. They were brought to the city of Parral. Between 1650 and 1660, to the north, unrest between the Navajo, some People tribes and the Spanish resulted in Jemez Warriors being enslaved by the Spanish, and sent to the Parral mines as punishment.

But in the early 19^th century the Americans began to overcome the negative Spanish influence by starting independent movements. The remaining colonies which weren’t lost were Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines and some of those places the United States occupied. Then Spanish - American war started. In 1898 the US won that war which ended the Spanish rule over the US.

How Can Indigenous people of Mexico sustain their culture to be economically successful?

By: Mary Beth

Indigenous people of Mexico, like the Tarahumaras, they could be successful by keeping their traditions alive. The men could keep their traditions alive by keeping the way they use to dress, in traditional clothes. It’s easy to talk about how much you could change but its harder pressure tradition. The Tarahumaras aren’t in material goods but they are rich in culture. Everyone loses their traditions little by little. Even if it’s not, a lot it makes huge impacts in lives. Almost every man that we saw wasn’t in his traditional clothing. The men weren’t out in their fields, perhaps because the Tarahumara ladies were the ones who made all the money and they were the ones who were the supporters of the families. Many men just go out and drink most of the time; they just depend on their women to make the money. The women are the most hard-working in the Tarahumara villages. The women weave all the baskets; make the jewelry, and many other products that they sell. The Tarahumara people could be successful in many different ways, but they also need to keep the traditions alive.