INDIANS JAILED FOR GATHERING PEYOTE

HUEJUQUILLA, Mexico, April 13 (UPI) -- While Jews observe Passover and
Christians celebrate Easter, Mexico's Huichol Indians are mourning the
damage to their spring rites after the Mexican army detained 21 Huichol men,
women and children for gathering peyote, a hallucinogenic plant.

The Indians were detained last month while returning from a pilgrimage to
gather peyote, which plays a central role in their religious rituals. The
arrests disrupted their Holy Week cycle, which began April 9.

``They feel very sad. It's like putting a Catholic in jail for taking holy
communion,'' said Susana Valadez, director of the non-profit Huichol
Indigenous Center in Huejuquilla, Jalisco, 400 miles (640 kms) northwest of
Mexico City.

The Mexican constitution and international law protect native peoples' right
to use peyote in their rituals.

But on March 16, soldiers at a military checkpoint near Huejuquilla detained
seven Indians and seized 50 kilograms of peyote.

The Indians were freed two days later, but the authorities kept some of
their peyote and several religious artifacts.

Four days later, another group of 14 Indians was detained. Soon afterward,
another 15 Indians were held for hunting deer, also used in rituals.

Huichol leader Francisco Lopez said, ``If the government and military are
going to end our way of life by confiscating our religious items and putting
us in jail for completing our spiritual obligations, then they might just as
well kill us all right now.''

In an April 11 television broadcast, the National Human Rights Commission
said Mexico's ethnic groups are frequently exposed to abuse by the
authorities. The commission upheld the Huichols' right to their ``cultural
space.''

The Huichol population is about 19,000, according to the National Statistics
Institute.