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2025
Inscription of the “Huichol Route through Sacred Sites to Huiricuta” to the World Heritage List.
After 30 years of efforts, we successfully inscribed the "Huichol Route through the Sacred Sites of Huiricuta" on the UNESCO World Heritage List (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) together with the Huixárica communities.
2023
Registration of the John and Colette Lilly Archive in the UNESCO Memory of the World Program – Mexico
This UNESCO program recognizes collections of exceptional value, and their registration carries a commitment to preserve them for the benefit of humanity.
CHAC prepared the dossier in partnership with the UAM-Cuajimalpa University of Mexico, as well as the National Sound Archive and the National Film Archive, where the original analog tapes are kept. We achieved well-deserved recognition for the epic work of our beloved colleagues John and Colette, in addition to raising awareness and endorsing the preservation of this exceptional collection.
2021
Support for the Tuapurie Community during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Support for the Indigenous Community of Tuapurie in facing the COVID-19 pandemic emergency. Diagnosis, planning, and execution of a prevention, training, and emergency care campaign. Fundraising, procurement, and delivery of supplies (oxygen concentrators, portable oxygen tanks, rapid antigen tests, oximeters, and thermometers).
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Pedro Carrillo
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CHAC
2020
Architectural preservation of the ceremonial site of Queaeruhuitea
The Huichol ceremonial enclosures or "tuquipa" are an extraordinary pre-Hispanic legacy. However, due to the influences of globalisation and ostracising governmental policies, the integrity and authenticity of their traditional architectural features have been impacted. Through this pilot project we support the members of the Queeruhuitea tuquipa in the preservation of their compound of temples.
John Lilly
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CHAC
2019
Collaboration on the Wimari Project – community radio network in Tuapurie
The Wimari Project focuses on empowering women in the Tuapurie community through applied research on structural vulnerabilities and maternal health among Huichol women. The community radio network is a result of this project and aims to facilitate communication between the different localities of the community across the rugged terrain of the Sierra Madre. Sixteen radio units were successfully installed and are primarily used in medical emergencies.
Diana Hernández
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CHAC
2018
Inscription of the Tehuacán–Cuicatlán Valley, Mesoamerica’s Original Habitat, on the World Heritage List
We prepared the nomination dossier submitted to UNESCO, commissioned by the government of the state of Puebla, INAH, and CONANP. Due to its outstanding universal natural and cultural value, it was successfully inscribed as a mixed property—a category that includes only 40 sites, representing just 3% of all sites inscribed worldwide. The valley is the most biodiverse arid region in the Americas, giving rise to key human adaptations that led to the emergence of Mesoamerica, one of the cradles of civilization in the world.
Andrés Harmsen
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CHAC
2016
Donation of golden eagle feathers to Huichol ceremonial centers
The golden eagle, despite being Mexico’s national bird, is endangered in the country. Its feathers are essential to Huichol ritual paraphernalia. Since 1999, we have established a feather collection mechanism from captive specimens to be donated to Huichol ceremonial centers. This initiative was later formalized under the Priority Species Program of CONANP. In turn, the Huichol people support the conservation of this species by reporting sightings and nesting territories. This way, everyone benefits.
Humberto Fernández
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CHAC
2015
World Heritage Nomination Dossier: Huichol Route through the Sacred Sites to Huiricuta
We prepared the Nomination Dossier for the Huichol Route through the Sacred Sites to Huiricuta for its upcoming inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The dossier includes the most accurate diagnosis, georeferencing, and characterization of the Huichol People's sacred landscapes to date. It will be completed with a management plan in accordance with the requirements of the Convention.
Manuel Llano
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CHAC
2012
Co-production of the Wirikuta Fest
To raise awareness about the serious threat posed by intensive mining projects in Huiricuta, we co-produced a music festival in Mexico City featuring 17 musical groups and artists (including Café Tacvba, Calle 13, and Julieta Venegas). The event, attended by over 58,000 people, was a great success in spreading awareness about this potential catastrophe and had significant media impact, amplifying the voices of the Huichol People, civil society organizations, and academics both within and beyond Mexico.
Cesareo Moreno
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CHAC
2011
Exhibition “The Huichol Nation: From the Sea to the Desert” at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago, USA
We co-curated this remarkable exhibition in collaboration with the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago. “The Huichol Nation” aimed to reflect the Huichol worldview, roots, daily life, and ritual practices. The exhibition featured documentary photography by various photographers and pieces from national and international collections spanning the last 120 years, along with representative works of art, textiles, and ritual paraphernalia. The exhibition was later adapted and installed at the Cultural Center of Real de Catorce, where it remained on display for 10 years.
2010
We produced a series of 16 educational videos narrated in Huichol language for its own use in the communities. A prominent wise-elder gives an interpretation of one of the richest historic collections of Huichol artefacts (made up in ca. 1906), preserved in the Ethnologisches Museum in Berlin. For the first time in Mexico, a historical indigenous collection in a foreign country is virtually rescued for its people.
Huichol Virtual Museum – K. Preuss Collection, Berlin
Nicola Lorusso
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CHAC
2009
Huichol Route State Park in Zacatecas
We conducted the ecological, socioeconomic, and cultural studies to support the creation of the Huichol Route State Park—one of the first protected natural areas in the state of Zacatecas. The park grants legal recognition to 60,500 hectares of sacred landscapes and 125 kilometers of the ancestral trail.
Humberto Fernández
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CHAC
2008
Defense of Tuapurie community lands: illegal Bolaños–Huejuquilla Road, Jalisco
Together with the Tuapurie community, we halted the construction of the illegal Bolaños–Huejuquilla road, which threatened the integrity of their ancestral lands and a region of the Sierra de los Huicholes recognized for its biodiversity and vital environmental services. The road project violated environmental laws, several international treaties, the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, agrarian rights, and basic principles of coexistence. This was achieved through legal action, advocacy, and media campaigns.
Manuel Llano
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CHAC
2004
Registration of the Route to Huiricuta on Mexico’s World Heritage Tentative List
We promoted and prepared the registration submitted by the Mexican State to the World Heritage Centre. This preliminary recognition is an essential step toward its future inscription on the World Heritage List, in accordance with the UNESCO Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. This Convention provides the highest level of legal protection available for a natural or cultural site under international law.
Humberto Fernández
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CHAC
2003
Installation of drip irrigation systems in the Huiricuta Reserve
We carried out the engineering, design, and installation of drip irrigation systems in various ejidos as a demonstration project. This technology maximizes water use in the arid region of the Huiricuta Reserve and provides a cost-effective alternative for goat farming.
Diana Hernández
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CHAC
2001
Natural sacred sites: legal precedent in Mexico
We promoted legislative changes in the state of San Luis Potosí, both in its cultural and environmental laws. These recognise and protect for the first time in our country, cultural routes and cultural landscapes as well as natural sacred sites of indigenous peoples. To present, at least other fourteen states in Mexico have implemented similar legislative measures.
Laurence Tardán
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CHAC
2000
Huiricuta Natural and Cultural Reserve, SLP
We conducted ecological, socioeconomic, and cultural assessments, built social alliances, and promoted the decree of the first protected area in Latin America explicitly created to conserve natural sacred sites and a cultural route. We also developed the corresponding management plan. Thanks to these efforts, the reserve received the international recognition “Sacred Gift for a Living Planet” from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC).
Humberto Fernández
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CHAC
1999
Georeferencing and Characterization of the Traditional Route to Huiricuta
In an expedition guided by cahuiteros (wise elders) from the Tuapurie community, we walked the 450 km route through dozens of sacred sites, gathering the most comprehensive description of it to date. This was the first formal assessment of an Indigenous cultural itinerary and its surroundings in Mexico, setting a precedent for its future protection.
Sabine Lemaire
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CHAC
1998
Global Network of Sacred Natural Sites
We collaborated with UNESCO to create the international program Culture-Based Environmental Conservation for Sustainable Development. Its goal was to establish a global network for the conservation of sacred natural sites still in use by Indigenous peoples, contributing to the preservation of the planet’s biodiversity. We also succeeded in having the Route to Huiricuta selected as one of the 13 founding sites of this Network.
Humberto Fernández
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CHAC
1997
Conservation of Primary Pine–Oak Forests: Maye Niuhue and El Carricito
We prevented one of the largest logging consortia in the country from carrying out illegal logging and land invasion across 30,000 hectares of two primary pine–oak forests located south of the Huichol communities in the Sierra Madre Occidental: Maye Niuhue and El Carricito. This was achieved through research, advocacy, public relations, and legal action.
J. Carlos Carrillo
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CHAC
1996
Registration of the Sierra de Catorce (IBA 81) in the Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA) Program of CONABIO
In collaboration with CONABIO, CIPAMEX, and BirdLife International, we promoted the recognition of the ecological value of the Sierra de Catorce due to the presence of the golden eagle and 152 other bird species, including endemic and threatened ones.
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