Peace encampment set up in defense
U.S. capital threatens Cucapa community
By
Mary Tamburro
Published Mar 30, 2007 9:02 PM
The Cucapa people have lived on the land adjacent to the Colorado River in the
communities of El Mayor and El Zanjón for over 9,000 years, living off the
fish they catch there.
In 1993 the government of Mexico passed a law creating an ecological reserve
out of this land and making it illegal for the Cucapa people to fish for their
livelihood. Recently the Mexican government moved in federal troops to enforce
this law.
The reserve was created to protect the sensitive species of marine life that
travel through this area of the river, but the reason these species are dying
out has nothing to do with the Cucapa.
Capitalist ventures north of the U.S./Mexico border are sucking the river dry
and threatening this people’s existence. Much of the water of the
Colorado River is diverted to Los Angeles and Las Vegas, leaving this
Indigenous community without a way to survive.
With only about 300 Cucapa still living, and their source of life becoming off
limits to them, “The Other Campaign” has stepped in to ask for
binational support for the people of this area who have been the ecological
ambassadors of this river for generations.
A peace encampment has been established on the land to escort the Cucapa on
their fishing excursions to ensure that they are able to get what they need to
survive, which is all they take.
The Other Campaign has called the encampment to extend the length of the
fishing season, from Feb. 28 to May 3.
This Indigenous community needs support in the form of non-perishable food and
clothing items and other material, and they need people to help witness and
ensure that the Cucapa can continue to fish and feed themselves.
To make a donation or to attend the camp, please contact the Collectivo
Zapatista San Diego at [email protected] or
619-819-7806, or visit www.nomadicsoundsystem.com/cucapa/.
The author is an organizer for FIST—Fight Imperialism, Stand
Together—in San Diego.
Articles copyright 1995-2012 Workers World.
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