For centuries, Mexico’s 20,000 Huichol Indians have resisted wave after wave of would-be invaders—from Aztec warriors to modern day Christian missionaries—by retreating into the steep, wooded canyons of the Sierra Madre Occidental. So when Jalisco state authorities began building a highway through Huichol territory earlier this year, hundreds in the community mobilized to stop it. Starting Feb. 11, over 600 men, women and children, in their traditional hand-embroidered tunics and ribbon-decked wide-brimmed hats, camped out along a stretch of the road to block the bulldozers. They accuse the government of abusing the local-consent process required for the project. This, they say, threatens their traditional way of life as well as their region’s environment, which features one of North... [Log in to read more]