THE FORGOTTEN PEOPLE OF THE COPPER CANYON

A Tarahumara Indian walking along the mountain road.  He is carrying a branding iron probably used for protection.

In the mountains west of Hidalgo del Parral live the Tarahumara Indians. They are the forgotten people of today, yet they live only a few hundred miles from the United States Border. Some of their villages are almost impossible to reach. They live in the vast Copper Canyon, making their homes in caves at higher altitudes during the hot weather and migrating to the bottom of the canyon to live in log cabins in winter.


The known history of the Tarahumara goes back to the days of the conquistadors and the rich copper mines in the Sierra Madres. The Spaniards enslaved Indians and others to work in their mines, but the proud and illusive Tarahumara hid themselves away deep in the vast wild canyons. They were able to disappear from view in an area that's said to be larger than the Grand Canyon in the United States. After some time they were forgotten and left in peace.

The Tarahumara people stayed shielded from modern society until 1960 when the railroad line went through the area bringing tourists. Until that time the people had none of the modern conveniences, some had never seen combs or mirrors or other such trinkets. They retained an innocence because of their extreme isolation. But because of their isolation, they missed hearing the gospel message.

The railroad also brought Wycliffe Bible Translators who began putting the Bible into the Tarahumara language. Although able to speak and read Spanish, having the Bible in their own language would open up God's Word even more to these people.

In the late 1990's Lloyd felt impressed to visit the Tarahumara Indians to take Spanish Bibles to their remote area. He made more than one trip to the Copper Canyon where he met the fascinating and proud people who were hidden for so long. For the most part they were friendly and welcoming, especially since he took special gifts with him on his trips. Lloyd was invited into Tarahumara cave homes where he left gifts of instant coffee, soap, candy, beans and rice. Although usually very shy and not liking attention, they allowed him to take their pictures.

We'd like to return to the Sierra Madre mountains of Mexico. Meanwhile, we'll continue to pray for the forgotten people of the Copper Canyon.

From an old Sunday School chorus:

"Everybody ought to know
       who Jesus is!
He's the fairest of ten thousand
He's the bright and morning star.
He's the lily of the valley
Everybody ought to know!"

Here is a Tarahumara cave home.  There are several women cooking outside.  Lloyd was invited inside this humble dwelling.