Indigenous Huichol Council Demands Cancellation of Mining Concessions on Sacred Land Latin American Herald Tribune
go to original March 7, 2013

Wirikuta Statement: Feb 7, 2012 - Wirikuta is a desert valley in the North of Mexico, in San Luis Potosi. It not only has been recognized by UNESCO as a natural and sacred area, Wirikuta is the most sacred place for the Huichol people. (Emergencia Mx)

MEXICO CITY – A Mexican Indian community is demanding that a Canadian mining company be stripped of seven concessions, accusing it of carrying out illegal exploration work.

Huichol Indian leaders lodged a complaint with the Economy Secretariat on March 1, alleging that Vancouver-based Revolution Resources Corp. lacks environmental permits and should lose its contracts, the Front for the Defense of Wirikuta, a mountainous area of central Mexico that is sacred to the Huichol, said in a statement.

The Indians said Revolution Resources personnel have acted with “total impunity” in conducting “exploration work as a part of the so-called Universo Project, which encompasses the entire plateau of the sacred ceremonial territory of Wirikuta.”

They added that Revolution Resources informed shareholders in a recent announcement of its plans to drill at 52 sites, “16 of which are located in the natural protected area” of Wirikuta, in the central state of San Luis Potosi.

Wirikuta, an area the Huichol have held sacred for thousands of years, is under threat from Canadian mining firms.

Although 140,200 hectares (346,000 acres) in the area were declared a natural protected reserve in 2001, mining projects and tomato plantations have proliferated and endanger its biodiversity, according to the Wixarika Regional Council, which comprises top Huichol leaders.

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