The Rarámuri live in the deepest canyons on the continent.

Mexico’s Copper Canyons are six river-carved chasms, each deeper than the Grand Canyon. The Rarámuri have lived for millennia in the Copper Canyons, living in scattered homesteads throughout the rugged, remote gorges.

Conquistadors annihilated most indigenous people in Mexico. However, the Rarámuri survived. Rather than fight colonial invaders, most Rarámuri fled deeper into their ancestral canyons. As a result, the Rarámuri culture has remained relatively intact for centuries. The Rarámuri are one of the few remaining cultures in North America still living and practicing most of their traditional ways of life.

Approximately 50,000 Rarámuri live in the Copper Canyons, scratching a living out of barren, rocky soil on steep hillsides. They safeguard old-growth forests, springs, and rivers that have sustained them and their culture. While some Rarámuri travel beyond the canyons for work, many continue to live, grow food, attend school, and practice traditional culture in their Copper Canyon homelands.

The Copper Canyon Alliance works to ensure the Rarámuri can continue living and thriving in their ancestral canyonlands by securing important resources, including clean water infrastructure, native corn and bean seeds, and support for indigenous schools. We work with Rarámuri leaders, communities, and partners throughout the canyons to protect Rarámuri land and culture.