This letter is written in response to the “Open Letter to the Psychedelic Movement” released by the Indigenous Peyote Conservation Communication Committee on May 7th, 2021.
First, I’d like to thank IPCI, NCNAC, and the many others, including leaders of the Wixarika and Raramuri communities in Mexico, who have been working on this critical issue for many years. As an organization, Decriminalize Nature is young— only two and a half years old, so I honor the long trek of IPCI and NCNAC and the many indigenous people of the Americas who have fought for the survival of their traditions and cultures.
My own grandmother, Maximiana Ximenez, an indigenous woman, was born and raised in a small adobe shelter with a thatched roof on the margins of a small town in rural Jalisco, donde viven los indios (“where the Indians live”) as the townspeople would say. To raise my father as a single mother, my abuelita washed clothes at the river, and lived a very humble life. My father worked a small plot of land in his beloved land in the Autlan Valley, 3 hours east of Guadalajara near the Rio de Tonaya. My earliest memories are of going to the river with my grandmother, or of tagging along with my father to his sun-drenched corn field. As the descendent of indigenous ancestry from the Chihuahuan desert and the Autlan Valley of Jalisco, I understand the importance of fighting for the protection and preservation of ancestral ways--for the deep connection to land and the rhythms of nature from where ancient wisdom emerges. May the Condor rise again.
Second, I honor all people who seek a path toward salvation of all of humanity, and are choosing the Good Path. We are, indeed, at a critical time in history where our future is unclear. For the first time in the history of humans, we are becoming aware that we are not only the cause of the potential demise of our species, but also of much of the plant and animal life on Earth. So many compassionate people are desperate to find solutions and willing to sacrifice so much to preserve life on this planet. I honor all of these people, be they from Europe, African, Asia, the Middle East, or throughout the Americas.
The work of IPCI and NCNAC to help find solutions to the potential extinction of peyote is important. Peyote is a key ally in our collective struggle to awaken the masses from the fear-based slumber of disconnection from ourselves, each other, and nature. So, we are very eager to hear the plan to save Peyote from extinction, given that most of the natural preserves of Peyote, revered by the Wixarika and the Raramuri are in Mexico, and most of the use is in the United States, largely by members of the Native American Church (NAC).
From December 2020 to February 2021, we encouraged the formation of a Blue- Ribbon Task Force to study ways to save peyote from extinction as part of the CA state-wide effort to decriminalize entheogens. But we understand the IPCI and NCNAC did not support this public process and discouraged its formation. We are eager to understand why they believed it was not a good idea to bring together indigenous leaders from various tribes in California, the US, and Mexico; conservation biologists; leaders of IPCI and NCNAC; policy makers; botanists, biologists, climatologists, and others to openly study ways to ensure peyote does not go extinct, while still honoring indigenous rights and rituals with Peyote.
As background, the sponsoring legislator of the DN resolution in Oakland is of Yaqui Ancestry, his wife is from the Tigua (Ysleta) Tribe—both tribes from Peyotegrowing regions. Sixty percent of our board is indigenous, and 50% of our Council of Elders are indigenous or directly affiliated with a tribe that uses peyote. My own ancestry is indigenous from the Autlan Valley of Jalisco, a region where the people likely used peyote, before colonization wiped out many of our ceremonial customs. As the chair of an organization whose mission is to decriminalize entheogens, and to work in collaboration with the local indigenous communities who steward the species and habitats where entheogens grow, I relate that we are simply asking for clarity on behalf of our base, which includes many indigenous people throughout the United States and Mexico, on what the plan is for preventing extinction of a plant that is sacred to so many land-based people of the Americas.
We look forward to working in support of a sound plan to protect peyote from extinction and that honors all indigenous people who have built spiritual and cultural practices with peyote. Until then, we hereby present our own working plan to help protect peyote from extinction-- for full public review and comment and encourage all to offer their feedback.
May Spirit guide,
Carlos Plazola,
Chair Decriminalize Nature National Board
First, I’d like to thank IPCI, NCNAC, and the many others, including leaders of the Wixarika and Raramuri communities in Mexico, who have been working on this critical issue for many years. As an organization, Decriminalize Nature is young— only two and a half years old, so I honor the long trek of IPCI and NCNAC and the many indigenous people of the Americas who have fought for the survival of their traditions and cultures.
My own grandmother, Maximiana Ximenez, an indigenous woman, was born and raised in a small adobe shelter with a thatched roof on the margins of a small town in rural Jalisco, donde viven los indios (“where the Indians live”) as the townspeople would say. To raise my father as a single mother, my abuelita washed clothes at the river, and lived a very humble life. My father worked a small plot of land in his beloved land in the Autlan Valley, 3 hours east of Guadalajara near the Rio de Tonaya. My earliest memories are of going to the river with my grandmother, or of tagging along with my father to his sun-drenched corn field. As the descendent of indigenous ancestry from the Chihuahuan desert and the Autlan Valley of Jalisco, I understand the importance of fighting for the protection and preservation of ancestral ways--for the deep connection to land and the rhythms of nature from where ancient wisdom emerges. May the Condor rise again.
Second, I honor all people who seek a path toward salvation of all of humanity, and are choosing the Good Path. We are, indeed, at a critical time in history where our future is unclear. For the first time in the history of humans, we are becoming aware that we are not only the cause of the potential demise of our species, but also of much of the plant and animal life on Earth. So many compassionate people are desperate to find solutions and willing to sacrifice so much to preserve life on this planet. I honor all of these people, be they from Europe, African, Asia, the Middle East, or throughout the Americas.
The work of IPCI and NCNAC to help find solutions to the potential extinction of peyote is important. Peyote is a key ally in our collective struggle to awaken the masses from the fear-based slumber of disconnection from ourselves, each other, and nature. So, we are very eager to hear the plan to save Peyote from extinction, given that most of the natural preserves of Peyote, revered by the Wixarika and the Raramuri are in Mexico, and most of the use is in the United States, largely by members of the Native American Church (NAC).
From December 2020 to February 2021, we encouraged the formation of a Blue- Ribbon Task Force to study ways to save peyote from extinction as part of the CA state-wide effort to decriminalize entheogens. But we understand the IPCI and NCNAC did not support this public process and discouraged its formation. We are eager to understand why they believed it was not a good idea to bring together indigenous leaders from various tribes in California, the US, and Mexico; conservation biologists; leaders of IPCI and NCNAC; policy makers; botanists, biologists, climatologists, and others to openly study ways to ensure peyote does not go extinct, while still honoring indigenous rights and rituals with Peyote.
As background, the sponsoring legislator of the DN resolution in Oakland is of Yaqui Ancestry, his wife is from the Tigua (Ysleta) Tribe—both tribes from Peyotegrowing regions. Sixty percent of our board is indigenous, and 50% of our Council of Elders are indigenous or directly affiliated with a tribe that uses peyote. My own ancestry is indigenous from the Autlan Valley of Jalisco, a region where the people likely used peyote, before colonization wiped out many of our ceremonial customs. As the chair of an organization whose mission is to decriminalize entheogens, and to work in collaboration with the local indigenous communities who steward the species and habitats where entheogens grow, I relate that we are simply asking for clarity on behalf of our base, which includes many indigenous people throughout the United States and Mexico, on what the plan is for preventing extinction of a plant that is sacred to so many land-based people of the Americas.
We look forward to working in support of a sound plan to protect peyote from extinction and that honors all indigenous people who have built spiritual and cultural practices with peyote. Until then, we hereby present our own working plan to help protect peyote from extinction-- for full public review and comment and encourage all to offer their feedback.
May Spirit guide,
Carlos Plazola,
Chair Decriminalize Nature National Board
