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The Triqui have been running from the strong and wealthy their entire lives. During the initial contacts with the Spanish, the native Indians were being given the choice of strangulation as a Christian or roasted in a fire as a heathen, nice choice, huh? All through their history, they retreated up the mountains, running from those who were bigger, stronger, richer and thought themselves much wiser. We believe they need Jesus.

In September, 1997 there was a meeting between the Triqui leaders and Esperanza, a Yaqui woman who has been active securing indigenous rights for her own people and for several other Sonoran groups including the Seris and Mayos. Esperanza explained that because the Triquis have lived in Sonora for seven years, they were entitled to full rights as an indigenous people. As It is generally understood, these rights include the following:

1. A piece of land to be set aside exclusively for recreation and ceremonial purposes for their group.

2. Legal title to the land and homes that they occupy. This is a bit complicated. The Triquis do not have legal titles to the lots where they have built their homes. They say they are working with the city to obtain those titles. If successful, each family would hold legal title to their particular lot or lots. But the city is not moving very fast and there is no assurance of if or when the legal arrangements can be made. Undoubtedly they would be costly and the Triquis would not have enough money for the notarial services necessary for every lot.



Under indigenous law, the group can gain title to the lots. But, individual families would not have legal title. As long as a family occupies a lot, it is theirs. But they cannot sell the lot. If the family abandons the lot for any reason, it reverts to the group which can determine who can live on the lot. This would probably not cost the group anything. But indigenous groups, though close knit because of their heritage, generally are not cooperative. The individuals probably prefer to have their lots titled in their own names.



3. Plants and animals for their own farms. According to Esmeralda this includes goats, pigs, sheep and a variety of fruit trees. This is very attractive to the Triquis who by nature and tradition are agrarian. But the Triquis have no land for this purpose. The ceremonial land might be used but the location of Miguel Aleman is not good for farming unless you have irrigation which is very, very costly and probably impossible for a modest sized operation. I asked them if the whole group might be willing to move to another location that was more amenable to farming and raising animals. They told me that they had talked about it but, until they new more, they were inclined to stay with the homes that they have. Giving up the homes that they have built themselves over the past seven years and starting again with nothing cannot appear very attractive to the group... even if given better land and animals by the government.

4. Their own school. Under indigenous law, a Triqui who has finished junior high school can take a training program that enables the trainee to be director of a local indigenous school. That school can offer a special curriculum that includes the language, history and culture of the particular group. But no Triqui from this group has ever finished junior high.

To our knowledge only one has finished elementary school. We have asked them to send a young man or woman to any where he or she can finish junior high and then complete the short training program. At first the leaders said they would. But nothing happened. We were told that the young men needed to generate income by working in the fields... none could be spared, unless we could pay the young man a salary while he was studying.We said we could house and feed the student and provide a small living allowance but could not pay the same wage that he would make in the field. We suggested they send me a young woman but have not had a response. The Triqui culture, like other indigenous groups, jealously guards the women and restricts their role to housewives and handcrafts. The idea of a women leaving the group for a year and then returning as the director of a school is probably disconcerting. They were a little shocked by the independence and forcefulness of Esperanza, the Yaqui who was trying to help them.