Indigenous spur change in fed’s farm worker survey
By Manuel Valdez
The Associated Press
Monday, January 26, 2009; 3:37 AM
SUMAS, Wash. — Catarina Lopez was born and raised in Guatemala and lived there for most of her 46 years, but she is not Latina, although many people think she is.
Lopez is Maya, a descendent of the inhabitants that populated Central America and parts of Mexico before the Spanish colonized the region in the 1500′s.
Her ancestry _ like that of thousands of other indigenous Latin Americans who have migrated to United States _ challenges and clouds the perception Americans have of the immigrants coming over the border.
Experts: Triqui dad in Greenfield followed culture’s marriage tradition
Fourteen-year-old girl offered to man, 18, in exchange for dowry
January 20, 2009
Experts who have lived among and studied the Triqui people of Oaxaca, Mexico believe that what happened to a Greenfield family, who authorities say allowed their 14-year-old daughter to live with a man as husband and wife, is a tragic misunderstanding of an honored tradition.
The Monterey County District Attorney has charged the father with child abuse, including procurement for lewd purposes, and the girl’s would-be mate faces statutory rape charges.
Teen’s arranged marriage is allowed in native Mexico
A Monterey County father who allegedly tried to collect a dowry of beer, cash and meat for his 14-year-old daughter’s wedding was following the custom of the Triqui people, police say.
By Steve Chawkins
January 15, 2009
The police in Greenfield, a Monterey County farm town, had heard the rumors before: Migrant workers from rural Mexico were marrying off daughters as young as 12 and receiving sizable dowries.
But no such cases were ever prosecuted — until this week.
FIOB’s STATEMENT ON THE CASE OF MARCELINO DE JESUS MARTINEZ
Los Angeles, California, January 14, 2009
Contacts:
Gaspar Rivera-Salgado (FIOB) Phone: (310) 206-3910 (Los Angeles)
Rufino Dominguez-Santos (CBDIO) Phone: (559) 499-1178 (Fresno)
STATEMENT ON THE INDIGENOUS TRIQUI IN GREENFIELD
The Indigenous Front of Binational Organizations (FIOB) and the Binational Center for the Development of Indigenous Oaxacans (CBDIO) join forces to inform the media and the general public about their position towards the case of the indigenous Triqui Marcelino de Jesús Martínez.
1. One of the hardships of living in a multicultural country like the United States is being able to understand the multiple cultural practices that are brought by the various migrant groups. It is imperative, both for the FIOB and the CBDIO, that there is a broad understanding of the diverse cultural practices and customs of the indigenous communities.
Oaxaca is one of Mexico’s most diverse states. In the state alone there are 16 different indigenous peoples and communities, each one speaking its own language and practicing a myriad of customs. From these communities the Mixtecos, Zapotecos, Chatinos and Triquis have migrated in large numbers to the United States, specifically to California, since the late-1980s. Among these indigenous migrants, the Triquis are the most recent arrivals. They face extreme communication barriers, since many speak only their own indigenous language, Triqui.