Edwin Bustillos
Quick Facts
Biography
Edwin Bustillos (died 2003) was an agricultural engineer from the Sierra Madre in Mexico. He is partially of Tarahumara descent.
Bustillos worked for a forestry-development project funded by the World bank; however, while he was involved in that effort he became more interested in the humanitarian problems of the Sierra Madre, including the drug trafficking issues. He also worked on other illegal activity in the region used to manipulate the natives. In 1992 Bustillos founded the Consejo Asesor Sierra Madre. This organization focuses on conservation and protection of the native's way of life and the environment. This has at times been at odds with the drug traffickers in the area who have been accused of working against the interest of the local population.
He was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 1996, for his efforts on preservation of land in the Sierra Madre Occidental. He is also featured in the film Voices of the Sierra Tarahumara.