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 Editorials | Environmental | March 2007 
US Capital Threatens Cucapa Community
 Mary Tamburro - Workers World
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| | La Bocana is one of the primary fishing areas for the Cucapa. The river has dried up due to the US building up dams and redirecting water mainly to water crops in So California and to provide water for Los Angeles and Las Vegas. |
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 colectivozapatista@riseup.net or 619-819-7806, or visit www.nomadicsoundsystem.com/cucapa/.
The author is an organizer for FIST — Fight Imperialism, Stand Together — in San Diego. |
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