Trabajadores de la Tierra: Reclaiming Mexican Indigenous Power through Land Work

Student: Cristal Martinez

Faculty Mentor: Justine Law

Hutchins School of Liberal Studies

College of Education, Counseling, and Ethnic Studies

This research examines the ecological knowledge, forest stewardship practices, and shared cultural experiences of Indigenous Mexican workers who physically manage land for fire resilience. I conducted participant observation at a forest field site and conducted four semi-structured interviews with land resilience workers. I then translated and transcribed these interviews. The interviews revealed that workers are reclaiming power and their autonomy by, for example, breaking gender roles, prioritizing safety over productivity, and reaching back toward their Mexican heritage and land management traditions. These workers are gaining strength, organizing their communities, and offering a vision for what a more sustainable, equitable, and flammable California might look like.