The Seri Comcaac Indians
Tiburon Island, northern Sonora coast , Mexico
Photo Beatriz Jacobs
Map of Seri territory with Seri names
Credit Felger R. and Mary Beck Moser
People of the Desert and Sea
1981 University of Arizona Press, Tucson
Who are the Seri Indians?
For over a thousand years, the Seri Indians, an endangered people of the desert and sea, have survived and even thrived in Sonoran Desert and on the islands of the western side of the Gulf of California, along the central coast in Northwest Mexico. The Seri Indians also known as Comcáac are the only surviving seafaring indigenous group of the Gulf of California. Their longevity is due to sophisticated knowledge of the desert and sea environment as fishers, hunters and gatherers.
The early Comcáac numbered in the thousands. They were comprised of 6 distinct bands that derived their livelihood from the desert and sea by fishing, hunting and gathering. Their historical land territory extended below Guaymas, Hermosillo and north of Libertad (fig 1).
As seafarers, they traveled in long reed or balsa boat to the islands throughout the central Gulf and to Baja.
Today the Seri are a lively group of about 1000 people living in two villages, Punta Chueca and Desemboque and in seasonal fishing camps along the coast of Sonora, Mexico. In addition to fishing, they are expert artisans, crafts people and herbalists. Their award winning ironwood carvings and baskets are highly prized by collectors and tourists.
The Seri are stewards to a unique and diverse array of marine and coastal biodiversity within their homeland -- the richest area of endemic species in North America. The ironwood tree (Olneya tesota) is unique to the Sonoran Desert and creates habitat for over 250 associated species. The 90 km of coastline within the Seri Indian territory contains one of the last undeveloped estuaries on the west coast of Mexico, and the area has recently been declared an Area of Biological Importance in a World Wildlife Fund inventory. Coastal lagoons and estuaries harbor red, white and black mangroves that create habitat and nursery grounds for fish, shellfish, resident and migratory birds. Lush beds of sea grasses provide forage and habitat for 120 types of fish, two kinds of crab and five species of sea turtles.
Threats to marine and coastal habitat jeopardize the cultural and ecological integrity of Seri Indian homelands along the Gulf of California: a new coastal highway to foster second-home development for American tourists attracted to Mexico’s beaches; tourism plans to develop yacht marinas in most of the coastal estuaries and lagoons in the Gulf of California; waters that function as nursery grounds for fish and shellfish; industrial agriculture that pollutes coastal waters; the encroachment of shrimp trawlers into Seri marine territory in response to the crash of the shrimp industry in the rest of the Gulf; industrial crafts people encroaching into Seri territory to harvest from the last intact ironwood forests in the region to sell their bulky carvings to uninformed tourists.
Seri Indians are actively engaged in protecting their homelands and waters. They are leading conservation, culture and sustainable development projects to protect their livelihoods and the rich biodiversity of their region. Seri Projects in Environment, Culture and Health is sponsored by The Center for Sustainable Environments at Northern Arizona University. To learn more about CSE and NAU to environment.nau.edu. To learn more about Seri projects click on the links provided.
