Ethnic groups in Sonora: territory, underdevelopment, and current living conditions

Abstract

this article provides a brief description of the territory and living conditions of indigenous peoples in Sonora, Mexico, based on their history, as well as land use, demographic, economic, education, housing, health and development indicators. There are nine ethnic groups in Sonora, totaling around 138,000 people, which represent 5.2 percent of the state’s total population. Together, they own 5.8 percent of the total land area, though their territories are located in desert and mountainous areas with limited accessibility and in some cases are shared with non-indigenous people. Eighty percent of indigenous groups live in rural communities that are often far from urban areas, have insufficient access to education and medical services, job sources that are low profile and poorly paid, and housing that is small, with few assets and no electricity, drainage and poor quality drinking water, if any. The indicators analyzed confirm the state of marginalization, vulnerability and fragility of this population group and reveal the urgent need for real governmental support.