Declaration of the First Gathering of the Indigenous Peoples of Michoacán

Translated and Submitted to It’s Going Down

On December 3-4, 2016, in the Indigenous community of Cherán K’eri, the first gathering of the Indigenous peoples of Michoacán took place. Many groups were present including community members of the P’urhépecha town; La Barra, San Juan Parangaricutiro, Uruapan, Cheranastico, Cherán, Nahuatzen, Tarecuato, Sevina, Santa Fe de la Laguna, Sicuicho, Arantepakua, Caltzonzin, Huecorio, Tzintzuntzan, Nurio, Pichataro, San Felipe de los Herreros, Carapan, Zopoco, Zacapu, Comahuen, Tirindaro, Huancito, Angahuan, Ocurio, Rio de Parras municipality of Querendaro, Cocucho, Santa Clara del Cobre, Pamatacuaro, Paracho, Ocumicho, Comunida Jardines de la Minsita, Turicuaro, Santo Tomas, Ihuatzio, Patamban, Patzcuaro, Tenguecho, Urapicho, Puacuaro y Pomacuaran.

The Nahua and Mazahua of the East of Michoacán, Zirahuato, San Felipe de los Alzati, Senguio.

The Nahua of the coast of our state, Santa Maria Ostula, Pomaro, Aquilla.

Otomís, San Cristóbal, Ejido of San Juan Zitacuaro.

With the solidarity presence of our Wixarika brothers of Tuxpan de Bolaños, Jalisco and the Yaqui tribe of Sonora, that share our struggle and resistance.

There was participation in each one of the tables of analysis and reflection, to tell our experiences, share opinions and reflections. We concluded that what provokes our suffering, our pain, and our sadness, are the politics of the bad government, the political parties, organized crime, and the national and international rich. In this suffering and pain we endure injustice, anti-democracy, insecurity, repression, persecution, dispossession, disappearance, and assassination.

But also we analyzed and reflected in this first gathering, that together the Indigenous peoples of Michoacán can choose our own destiny with the knowledge that our oldest grandparents have given us, exercising in practice our usos y costumbres. We see that organized in each neighborhood, in each community, in each region, everywhere in the state of Michoacán, we can construct our autonomy and self-determination, our own laws and our own institutions as Indigenous peoples. We can also raise our voice, mobilizing ourselves when someone is touched, responding together so that respect for the modes of which we live prevails.

We can also walk with the compañeras and compañeros of the collectives and organizations that accord with the agreements of this first gathering, those in tune with the struggle of our peoples in resistance. That is, those who, being anti-capitalist and honest in their being, want to contribute from their struggle, to change for more just social relations, relations of coexistence with the land, and with others. Together we can continue strengthening ever more our pathway, of the reconstitution of our historic rights, that since ancestral times are our very own.

We Agreed:

• To carry out the second gathering of the Indigenous peoples of Michoacán, within the lapse of three months.
• Strengthen in practice the historical memory of our people, to generate our own vision
• We will give continuity and sustain the commitment to accompany and strengthen our processes of struggle and organization in defense of territory and the reconstitution of our peoples, in education, food, housing, health, means of production, means of communication, language, music, dance, science, art, technology, modes of governing ourselves and living on the basis of our resistances and rebellions.
• We publicly announce our defense of the Nahua territory of the community of Pomaro on the coast of Michocán and we name responsible the bad government and the national and international companies of whatever act of attack is carried out against the community and the Nahua people.
• Stop the policies of extermination of the state and federal institutions that consider illegible our Mazahua and Otomí brothers of the East of the State of Michoacán.

Justice for the Indigenous Peoples of Michoacán from Cherán K’eri, P’urhépecha Territory

For the Security, Justice and Reconstitution of our Territories

December 4, 2016