Out of the Sierra: A Story of Rarámuri Resistance

by Victoria Blanco

A displaced family charts a path forward in this testament to the power of perseverance and the many forms resistance can take.

The Rarámuri people of Chihuahua, Mexico, make up one of the largest Indigenous tribes of North America. Renowned for maintaining their language and cultural traditions in the face of colonization, they have weathered numerous hardships—climate disaster, poverty, cultural erasure—that have only worsened during the twenty-first century.

Based on more than a decade of oral history and participatory field work, Out of the Sierra paints a vivid and vital portrait of Rarámuri displacement. When drought leaves the Gutiérrez family with nothing to eat, they are faced with the choice many Rarámuris must remain and hope for rain and aid, or leave their sacred homeland behind. Luis, Martina, and their children choose to journey from their home in the Sierra Madre mountains toward a new and uncertain future in a government-funded Indigenous settlement.

Victoria Blanco considers Indigenous identity with tenderness and intelligence, demanding recognition and justice for the Rarámuri people as they resist assimilation and uphold traditional knowledge in the face of broken systems. In a narrative of unprecedented access and intimacy, Out of the Sierra offers a groundbreaking testimony to human resilience and the power of community.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

355 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2024

Reviews

[CatReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 2009, 25-year-old Fulbright fellow Victoria Blanco (who is of Mexican mestiza -- mixed European and indigenous -- ancestry) traveled to Chihuahua City, Mexico, with the goal of researching and learning about the Rarámuri people, an indigenous group who've faced displacement from their native homelands in the Sierra mountains and have re-settled into urban environments. Blanco met a 9-year-old Rarámuri girl named Lupita, and over the course of her fellowship year, befriended Lupita's mother Martina and other family and community members. She immersed herself as fully as possible into Rarámuri culture, partaking in all activities of daily living except for their practice of korima (basically, standing in streets and public places asking for monetary donations, as culturally Rarámuri women and children do not believe in working for wages as that would violate their cultural practices).

Out of the Sierra is a reconstructed, somewhat fictionalized narrative of the story of Lupita and Martina's family, beginning in 2005 when Martina and her husband Luis left the Sierra and settled into urban government-provided housing around Chihuahua city, and focusing largely on 2009-2010 during the time Blanco spent with the family. Since finishing her fellowship and moving back to the United States, Blanco has continued to stay in touch with Lupita's family periodically, and the epilogue recounts changes in the family and Rarámuri community since 2010 (mostly unfortunate changes).

Overall, this was an interesting read, though I have several critiques. First, the 2009-2010 part of the book was too lengthy to the point where I lost interest in the mundanities being described in excruciating detail; it would have benefited from being condensed for saliency. Second, I was very confused about the book's context when I started reading; it wasn't until I read the epilogue and author's note that I understood Blanco's vision -- I would have preferred this information being presented first for clarity. Third, like with all books that focus narrowly but intend to speak broadly, it would have been helpful to include more Rarámuri families and perspectives, though it sounds like Rarámuri people are generally pretty hesitant to open up outside of their group, and it was difficult enough for Blanco to find one family and community to follow closely. Blanco also cites other scholars who've published academic works on the Rarámuri at the end.

Further reading:
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall- also about the Rarámuri people (called Tarahumara in this book), though from a very different perspective

My statistics:
Book 203 for 2024
Book 1806 cumulatively

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! One of the best books I've read all year. It is a deep look into the Rarámuri people of Chihuahua, Mexico. For generations, they lived in the Sierra, but drought forced many of their people into the cities, basically into housing projects where they face the horrible choice of maintining their culture or assimilation and losing their history and themselves. The story is told through the experience of one family, but is indicative to the experience of so many.

[Amal Omer · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. i really liked the authors note at the end and the context given there; would’ve loved the whole book to be written like that. the rest of it read so much like fiction, a little too focused on the creative narrative for me. but, overall, a beautiful story, one that demands to be told— about the colonization of Mexico, about addiction, and environmental catastrophe as a result of capitalism, and about communal ways of living that have predated these systems.

[Morgan Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly highly recommend. It will make you angrier at capitalism/colonization than you already are. But a truly amazing story that I will not stop thinking about anytime soon.

[L · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was blown away by this book. Through the journey of one Rarámuri family, it shows a thousand things: the fierceness and creativity of the Rarámuri people fighting for literal and cultural survival, the colonial and systemic forces against which they’ve fought for hundreds of years, and the Rarámuris’ renegotiation of what it looks like to stay true to their culture amid displacement, climate change, violence, and the forces of assimilation. I became deeply invested in each of the family members. The book describes the Rarámuris’ experience of time as non-linear, and that felt true in its writing too. Reading it felt like being gently carried by waves, back and forth through time, through space, from the story of one family to the story of a whole people resisting colonization.

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucky enough to win a galley of this in a raffle at a local event in February.

An extremely intimate ethnography of a Rarámuri family (a long-uncontacted tribe Indigenous to the Mexican Sierras) as the drying up of their mountain streams forces them to migrate to the city. Captivating start to finish -- I read this over a weekend.

I think it'll take me more time and reflection to discover what exactly I'll take away from this one, but the early gut check is the strength Martina and the other mothers in this book were able to draw from their culture is exceptionally moving.

[Dree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this up at the 2025 LA Times FOB after seeing Blanco discussing this book on a panel (it was an excellent panel, my favorite of 2025).

This is a look at a Rarámuri family--one of many forced out of the mountains by drought and cartel farmers. They have moved into Chihuahua city, where they try to hold onto their traditions while also being forced into the cash economy. Blanco covers the good, the bad, and the decisions different people and the community as a whole make to survive and keep their culture and values. This book is historic, looking at the drought of the early 2000s, but is also ongoing, as Blanco visits/checks in occasionally.

I do wish the Author's Note had been at the beginning of the book. In it she discusses her methods and why she used those methods. I have issues with anthropological work, though this is a different situation as these families chose to make the move to the city by drought and danger (cartels). I did still have a few questions upon finishing: did she eat with them, supplying her own food, or did she eat their food? Or did she only eat at community events, acquiring her own food after leaving the community for the night? Did she successfully keep her own money and knowledge from affecting her work? And how awkward/uncomfortable was that?

In any case, a very interesting book!

[Katelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Rarámuri, indigenous peoples in Mexico, were driven centuries ago into the Sierra Mountains by Spanish colonizers. However, many Rarámuri have been forced out of the Sierras by drought and the threat of drug cartels. Blanco followed a Rarámuri family for a year, and here she tells the family's story of leaving the Sierra due to fear of starvation, and moving to a walled-in Rarámuri housing complex in urban Chihuahua. Life is very tough there, and the family is living day to day, buying only enough food for that day and breakfast the next. Blanco examines how the women resist the culture around them through sewing, dress, and their choice of work. This is an in-depth story of one family, living in an urban center while trying to retain their culture. Heartbreaking and moving.

[Kira Córdova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Out of the Sierra is a stunning compilation of years of research and interviews to chronicle the Rarámuri people's fight for their basic rights and needs in Chihuahua as environmental and socio-political forces push them out of their traditional lifestyle in the Sierra. Blanco centers the detailed story of one family, and their narrative drives Out of the Sierra through in-depth examinations of environmental and social justice issues. I highly recommend reading the author's note first for a sense of just how much time and research, including learning some Rarámuri, Blanco invested in this book!

[Allison Lienen · Rating 4 out of 5]

So informative and I feel well done (read the authors note). I had no idea about the Rarámuri people and their struggles and resistance before this. It’s hard to know that the events took place in the past 15 years and that so many Indigenous communities are likely facing the same things still today.

[Joe Batista · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives tragedy, struggle, and willpower all wrapped together. While the context may feel harsh for some, its that same harsh reality that shows us an in depth look of a culture, a way of life, and people who have attempted to overcome the displacement set out. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and to see beyond just a history, but a take on prevalent issues facing indigenous cultures and the resistant to assimilating to the current climate of today.

While I did learn about the culture of the Raramuri while reading, I would have loved to see more of it. However, this book did everything it intended to accomplish.

[Lily McRee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and though it was a super interesting case of participatory research. Though the book was nonfiction and not something I would usually read, the narrative and story was very compelling. Would definitely recommend.

[Lyndsay Durbin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this SOOOO much. The writing flowed so well and even though this is completely true and factual, it read in such a way as Fiction tends to. A great insight into the Raramuri life and their history! Wish I had read this way quicker than I did.

[Robyn]

Notables 2024 #141

[Marcela · Rating 5 out of 5]

In depth portrait of a prominent indigenous group in Chihuahua Mexico.

[S.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5, full review to come!

[Trinity Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely incredible. Beautifully rendered.

[Michaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.5. Interesting, but quite repetitive and a slow read.

[Staeci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend!!

[Ginger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe one of the best books I have read in a long time. Makes me think about community, ways people are kept in oppression, and resilience. It made me think about the ways majority cultures don’t take the time to understand the tradition and background of other cultures. What is seen as bettering to some is completing going against the grain of another cultures values.

Seeing reading books as individualistic culture rather than sharing the stories in community.

[Seán O'Donnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful, meticulously written.