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©NCFH, 2018 1 INDIGENOUS AGRICULTURAL WORKERS Known to have joined the U.S. agricultural industry’s workforce in the early 1990s, indigenous farmworkers are a population that most know little about. Many do not know that their primary language is not Spanish, that their clothing and food have strong traditional cultural ties, and that many indigenous persons have a strong affiliation towards community networks, local organizing and political activities, and traditional forms of medicine. Because research literature indicates that the overwhelming majority of indigenous persons employed in U.S. agriculture are from Latin America and not the U.S., we focus on Latin American indigenous groups in this research brief. DEMOGRAPHICS • Approximately 40 million people in Latin America self-identify as ethnically indigenous. 1 • Latin America’s indigenous populations are highly diverse in culture, language, food, and religion. An estimated 550-700 different languages in more than 50 different language families are spoken in Latin America. The most commonly spoken indigenous languages spoken in Latin America include Quechua (South America), Guaraní (Paraguay), Nahuatl (México), and Kekchí (Guatemala). Many languages are endangered and will likely lose their last surviving speakers in the next century. 2 • The Indigenous Farmworkers Study (IFS) is the most comprehensive study of indigenous farmworkers in the U.S. to date. The IFS is limited to farmworkers residing in California, but is the best current source of information about the demographics of indigenous farmworkers in the U.S. The IFS estimated that 165,000 indigenous farmworkers from Mexico were residing in California, and that the majority originated from the states of Guerrero and Oaxaca in Mexico. 3 • Of the indigenous languages spoken by participants in the IFS study, Mixteco was the most common, as more than half of participants were Mixteco speakers. One in four spoke Zapoteco and one in ten spoke Triqui. A small number of participants spoke Nahuatl or Chatino. 3 HISTORY • The indigenous peoples of Mexico and Central America have a complex history that demonstrates an ability to survive and thrive despite experiencing hundreds of years of violence from Spaniards and later from their own national governments. 3–5 • In recent history, poverty and systemic violence have caused indigenous peoples in Latin America to leave their hometowns and migrate to larger urban areas in their own country, as was the case of the Maya-speaking Mexicans from Yucatan, or to work in agricultural or the service sector in the U.S. 6 The first documented movements of indigenous Mexicans to the U.S. occurred during the 1960s when the Bracero program gave work authorization to Mexicans willing to work in the U.S. agricultural fields. 6

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Page 1: INDIGENOUS AGRICULTURAL WORKERS DEMOGRAPHICS©NCFH, 2018 2 • In the 1970s and 1980s, thousands of Guatemalan indigenous persons fled to Mexico and later to the U.S. during the brutal

©NCFH,2018 1

INDIGENOUSAGRICULTURALWORKERS

KnowntohavejoinedtheU.S.agriculturalindustry’sworkforceintheearly1990s,indigenousfarmworkersareapopulationthatmostknowlittleabout.ManydonotknowthattheirprimarylanguageisnotSpanish,thattheirclothingandfoodhavestrongtraditionalculturalties,andthatmanyindigenouspersonshaveastrongaffiliationtowardscommunitynetworks,localorganizingandpoliticalactivities,andtraditionalformsofmedicine.BecauseresearchliteratureindicatesthattheoverwhelmingmajorityofindigenouspersonsemployedinU.S.agriculturearefromLatinAmericaandnottheU.S.,wefocusonLatinAmericanindigenousgroupsinthisresearchbrief.

DEMOGRAPHICS

• Approximately40millionpeopleinLatinAmericaself-identifyasethnicallyindigenous.1• LatinAmerica’sindigenouspopulationsarehighlydiverseinculture,language,food,and

religion.Anestimated550-700differentlanguagesinmorethan50differentlanguagefamiliesarespokeninLatinAmerica.ThemostcommonlyspokenindigenouslanguagesspokeninLatinAmericaincludeQuechua(SouthAmerica),Guaraní(Paraguay),Nahuatl(México),andKekchí(Guatemala).Manylanguagesareendangeredandwilllikelylosetheirlastsurvivingspeakersinthenextcentury.2

• TheIndigenousFarmworkersStudy(IFS)isthemostcomprehensivestudyofindigenousfarmworkersintheU.S.todate.TheIFSislimitedtofarmworkersresidinginCalifornia,butisthebestcurrentsourceofinformationaboutthedemographicsofindigenousfarmworkersintheU.S.TheIFSestimatedthat165,000indigenousfarmworkersfromMexicowereresidinginCalifornia,andthatthemajorityoriginatedfromthestatesofGuerreroandOaxacainMexico.3

• OftheindigenouslanguagesspokenbyparticipantsintheIFSstudy,Mixtecowasthemostcommon,asmorethanhalfofparticipantswereMixtecospeakers.OneinfourspokeZapotecoandoneintenspokeTriqui.AsmallnumberofparticipantsspokeNahuatlorChatino.3

HISTORY

• TheindigenouspeoplesofMexicoandCentralAmericahaveacomplexhistorythatdemonstratesanabilitytosurviveandthrivedespiteexperiencinghundredsofyearsofviolencefromSpaniardsandlaterfromtheirownnationalgovernments.3–5

• Inrecenthistory,povertyandsystemicviolencehavecausedindigenouspeoplesinLatinAmericatoleavetheirhometownsandmigratetolargerurbanareasintheirowncountry,aswasthecaseoftheMaya-speakingMexicansfromYucatan,ortoworkinagriculturalortheservicesectorintheU.S.6ThefirstdocumentedmovementsofindigenousMexicanstotheU.S.occurredduringthe1960swhentheBraceroprogramgaveworkauthorizationtoMexicanswillingtoworkintheU.S.agriculturalfields.6

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©NCFH,2018 2

• Inthe1970sand1980s,thousandsofGuatemalanindigenouspersonsfledtoMexicoandlatertotheU.S.duringthebrutalcivilwarbecausethemilitaryconsideredindigenousMayansasthreatstothestateandexecutedsystematicactsofgenocideinindigenouscommunities.5

• LatinAmericanindigenouspeopleshavecreatedmultiplenotoriouspoliticalmovementstoadvocateforgreateraccesstohealthcare,education,economicopportunities,rightstoland,andrecognitionoftheirlanguagesandtraditions.7,8Oneofthemostwell-knownmovementsistheEjércitoZapatistadeLiberaciónNacional(EZLN),apoliticalgroupofindigenousresidentsofChiapas,Mexicothathaspushedforbilingualeducation,localautonomyandbasichumanrightsforindigenouspeoplesinMexico.9,10

HOMETOWNNETWORKS

• HometownnetworksareanimportantaspectofthecultureofindigenouspeoplelivingintheU.S.ManyindigenouspersonsfromMexicoandCentralAmericawerepartofclose-knitruralcommunitiesintheirhomecountry,andtheseclosetiesoftenfollowpeopleastheymigratetotheU.S.Hometownnetworksareessentiallygroupsofpeoplefromthesameregioninthesendingcountrywhoshareresources,advice,traditions,andotherformsofsupport.11

• TheIFSinCaliforniadocumentedninehometownnetworksofindigenousfarmworkersresidingintheU.S.Someofthehometownnetworkswerewell-established,asmalemembershadresidedintheU.S.fordecadesandhadbroughttheirwivesandchildrentoliveintheU.S.Newer,less-establishedhometownnetworksconsistedofyoungermaleswhomorerecentlyleftMexicoforworkintheU.S.11

WORKINGCONDITIONS

• WorkingconditionsforindigenousfarmworkersintheU.S.ispoorlydocumented,butthelittleresearchthatdoesexistindicatesthatindigenousfarmworkersfacethesameabusesandchallengesofotherfarmworkers,ifnotmoreso.Non-Spanishspeakingindigenouspersonsmaybemoreisolatedandfacegreaterbarrierstofilingcomplaintsaboutworkplacesafetyorlaborrightsabuses,andpersonswhophysicallyappearindigenousmayfacediscriminationfromnon-indigenousLatinosandfromAngloAmericans.1,12

• ThemedicalanthropologistDr.SethHolmesprovidesoneofthemostextensiveaccountspublishedabouttheworkingconditionsforindigenousfarmworkersintheU.S.InhisbookFreshFruit,BrokenBodies,hedescribesextremepoverty,extremelyphysicallydemandinglabor,andfrequentexposuretopesticidesandotheroccupationalhazardsforindigenousfarmworkers.13

• ResearchconductedwithindigenousfarmworkerwomeninOregonfoundthatsexualharassmentatworkwascommonplace,andwomenfrequentlydidnotreportit,eitherbecausetheydidnotknowhowtoreportoroutoffearofretaliation.14Singlemothersreportedlyexperiencedgreaterlevelsofsexualharassment,generallyfrommeninsupervisorypositions,astheyweremorevulnerableandcouldnotaffordtolosework.

DISCRIMINATION

• LatinAmericahastheworstincomeinequalityintheworld,andindigenouspopulationsaregenerallyconcentratedinthelowestsocialstratathroughoutLatinAmerica.Socialdiscriminationisstrong,butlittlepublicpolicyhasbeenproducedtoaddresswidespreaddiscriminationanddisparitiesexperiencedbyindigenousandBlackLatinAmericans.15

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©NCFH,2018 3

• IndigenouspersonsexperiencediscriminationinboththeirhomecountriesandintheU.S.due

toskintone,language,culturalpractices,andbodytype.16,17

HEALTHINLATINAMERICA

• InLatinAmerica,ethnicity,skintone,socio-economicstatusanddiscriminationarealldeeplyinterwoven.Researchersinvestigatingtherelationshipsbetweenanindigenousethnicityandself-reportedhealthfoundthatpersonswhoidentifiedasindigenousreportedtheworsthealthstatusofallgroups,whichincludedbothnon-indigenousWhiteandBlackLatinos.1

• HealthinequitiesamongindigenouspeoplesthroughoutLatinAmericaarewell-documented.Maternalhealthoutcomesaregenerallysubstantiallyworseamongindigenouswomencomparedtonon-indigenouswomen,andbothinfantandmaternalmortalityratesaregreateramongindigenouswomen.InMexico,indigenouswomenarefivetimesmorelikelytodieinchildbirththannon-indigenouswomen.18Reasonsforthisarecomplex,andincludehighratesofpovertyandmalnutrition,ruralisolation,andlimitedaccesstohealthcarefacilities.19

• IndigenouschildreninMexicoandGuatemalahavebeenfoundtoexperiencemuchhigherratesofinfantandchildhoodmortalityandstunting&malnutrition.18,20InBrazil,indigenouschildrenwerefoundtohavehighratesofmalnutrition,diarrhealillnessesandrespiratoryinfections,bothcommoncausesofchildhoodmortality.21,22

HEALTHINTHEU.S.

• IndigenousimmigrantsintheU.S.facemultiplebarrierstoaccessinghigh-qualityhealthservices.Thisissueisparticularlyacuteforfemaleindigenousimmigrants,andlanguagebarriers,alackofhealthinsurance,anddifferentculturalperceptionsofhealthanddiseasemaymakeaccessinghealthcaredifficult.12,23

• EthnographicresearchfoundthattheperceptionsofU.S.medicalprofessionalswasofteninhibitivetotheprovisionofculturally-sensitiveandhigh-qualitymedicalcaretoindigenousfarmworkers,ratherthantheperceptionsofindigenouspatients.24

• TheIFSfoundthatonly9%ofindigenousfarmworkerparticipantshadhealthinsurancecoverage,substantiallylowerthanthe31%ofnon-indigenousLatinofarmworkerswhohavehealthinsurancecoverage.3

• Asurveyofnearly1,000indigenouspersonsinCaliforniafoundthatonly57%ofadultsreportedthattheyhadaccesstohealthcareservices,although90%ofparticipantsreportedthattheirchildrenhadaccesstohealthcareservices.18

• Morethanhalf(59%)ofindigenouspersonsinVenturaCounty,Californiareportedthattheirfamilydidnothaveenoughfood,and48%reporteddifficultiesingainingadequatehousing.25

• IntheU.S.,researchhasfoundthatindigenouspersons,especiallyindigenouswomen,experiencepoorermentalhealthandhigherstresslevelsthannon-indigenousLatinos.Higherstresslevelswerefoundtodeclinewithhighereducationlevels,betterliteracy,andincreasedtimeintheU.S.forindigenouspersons.26

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©NCFH,2018 4

REFERENCES

1. Perreira,K.M.&Telles,E.E.TheColorofHealth:SkinColor,EthnoracialClassification,andDiscriminationintheHealthofLatinAmericans.Soc.Sci.Med.19820,241–250(2014).

2. AILLA:TheIndigenousLanguagesofLatinAmerica.Availableat:http://www.ailla.utexas.org/site/lg_about.html.(Accessed:7thMarch2017)

3. Mines,R.,Nichols,S.&Runsten,D.California’sindigenousfarmworkers.FinalRep.TofIndig.FarmworkerStudyCalifonriaEndow.(2010).

4. Muñoz,M.L.O.IndigenousMobilizationsandtheMexicanGovernmentduringthe20thCentury.(2016).doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199366439.013.30

5. GuatemalanMigrationinTimesofCivilWarandPost-WarChallenges.migrationpolicy.org(2013).Availableat:http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/guatemalan-migration-times-civil-war-and-post-war-challenges.(Accessed:9thMarch2017)

6. HiddeninPlainSight:IndigenousMigrants,TheirMovements,andTheirChallenges.migrationpolicy.org(2010).Availableat:http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/hidden-plain-sight-indigenous-migrants-their-movements-and-their-challenges.(Accessed:9thMarch2017)

7. Langer,E.D.ContemporaryIndigenousMovementsinLatinAmerica.(Rowman&LittlefieldPublishers,2003).

8. Stavenhagen,R.inMulticulturalisminLatinAmerica(ed.Sieder,R.)24–44(PalgraveMacmillanUK,2002).doi:10.1057/9781403937827_2

9. Vergara-Camus,L.Globalización,tierra,resistenciayautonomía:elEZLNyelMST.Rev.Mex.Sociol.73,387–414(2011).

10. JUNG,C.ThePoliticsofIndigenousIdentity:Neoliberalism,CulturalRights,andtheMexicanZapatistas.Soc.Res.70,433–462(2003).

11. HometownNetworks.Availableat:http://www.indigenousfarmworkers.org/hometown_networks.shtml.(Accessed:9thMarch2017)

12. Lee,J.,Donlan,W.,Cardoso,E.E.O.&Paz,J.J.CulturalandSocialDeterminantsofHealthamongIndigenousMexicanMigrantsintheUnitedStates.Soc.WorkPublicHealth28,607–618(2013).

13. FreshFruit,BrokenBodies.

14. Murphy,J.,Samples,J.,Morales,M.&Shadbeh,N.‘Theytalklikethat,butwekeepworking’:SexualharassmentandsexualassaultexperiencesamongMexicanIndigenousfarmworkerwomeninOregon.J.Immigr.Minor.HealthCent.Minor.PublicHealth17,1834–1839(2015).

15. Telles,E.&Bailey,S.UnderstandingLatinAmericanBeliefsaboutRacialInequality.Am.J.Sociol.118,1559–1595(2013).

16. Villarreal,A.StratificationbySkinColorinContemporaryMexico.Am.Sociol.Rev.75,652–678(2010).

17. Chavez-Dueñas,N.Y.,Adames,H.Y.&Organista,K.C.Skin-ColorPrejudiceandWithin-GroupRacialDiscrimination:HistoricalandCurrentImpactonLatino/aPopulations.Hisp.J.Behav.Sci.36,3–26(2014).

18. Servan-Mori,E.,Torres-Pereda,P.,Orozco,E.&Sosa-Rubí,S.G.AnexplanatoryanalysisofeconomicandhealthinequalitychangesamongMexicanindigenouspeople,2000-2010.Int.J.EquityHealth13,21(2014).

19. Chopel,A.M.ReproductivehealthinindigenousChihuahua:givingbirth‘alonelikethegoat’.Ethn.Health19,270–296(2014).

20. Martínez-Fernández,A.,Lobos-Medina,I.,Díaz-Molina,C.A.,Chen-Cruz,M.F.&Prieto-Egido,I.TulaSalud:Anm-healthsystemformaternalandinfantmortalityreductioninGuatemala.J.Telemed.Telecare21,283–291(2015).

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©NCFH,2018 5

21. Escobar,A.L.etal.DiarrheaandhealthinequityamongIndigenouschildreninBrazil:resultsfromtheFirstNationalSurveyofIndigenousPeople’sHealthandNutrition.BMCPublicHealth15,191(2015).

22. Horta,B.L.etal.Nutritionalstatusofindigenouschildren:findingsfromtheFirstNationalSurveyofIndigenousPeople’sHealthandNutritioninBrazil.Int.J.EquityHealth12,23(2013).

23. Lopez,R.A.UseofAlternativeFolkMedicinebyMexicanAmericanWomen.J.Immigr.Health7,23–31(2005).

24. Holmes,S.M.Theclinicalgazeinthepracticeofmigranthealth:MexicanmigrantsintheUnitedStates.Soc.Sci.Med.198274,873–881(2012).

25. Maxwell,A.E.etal.SocialdeterminantsofhealthintheMixtecandZapoteccommunityinVenturaCounty,California.Int.J.EquityHealth14,16(2015).

26. Donlan,W.&Lee,J.IndigenousandMestizoMexicanMigrantFarmworkers:AComparativeMentalHealthAnalysis.J.RuralCommunityPsychol.(2010).


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