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TUCSON, Arizona -- Indigenous women from Sonora, Mexico are among nine Indigenous organizations in Mexico caravaning to Chiapas with cloth for Mayan women.

"They want to preserve the dignity of the women in Chiapas," said Maria Garcia, spokesperson for the Traditional Council of Indigenous Nations in Sonora, Mexico.

"When people in the United States send fancy dresses and high heels, it is a nice gesture, but it humiliates the women in Chiapas."

"With this material, they can make their own traditional clothes."

Indigenous women will share workshops for creating small businesses to encourage economic development in villages. The nine Indigenous organizations caravaning to Chiapas, with arrival scheduled for March 8 in San Cristobal de las Casas, include the Nacion Puruepecha Zapatista and the Consejo Guerrerense 500 Anos, an Indigenous council in Guerrero resisting 500 years of colonization.

In a recent letter to Mexico President Zedillo, the nine Indigenous organizations condemned the slaughter of villagers in Acteal, Chiapas.

Quoting the letter to Zedillo, Garcia said the massacre occurred because the government of Mexico ignored the crisis in Chiapas and intends to exterminate the Indigenous peoples of Mexico.

"The Indigenous people want to live in justice, autonomy and dignity in their own cultural ways. That is not a sin," Garcia said.

"This problem is pushing people to leave behind their own homes and move to another place. This is criminal because they can lose their identity."

Garcia gathered with Indigenous women in Oaxaca, Mexico, in August to gather strength and discuss economic development projects, including cafes, toy-making, sewing and crafts projects, for villages in Mexico.

"What I heard in Oaxaca is if all the women help the Zapatista women, our unity will make their dream come true of a better world for their children. This is why we do this."

Caravans of Indigenous women will depart from from Cuetzalan, Chilpancingo, Tuxpan, Morelia, Amelaco, Obregon, Orizaba and Hidalgo.

"In Mexico, it is so hard to work because of the lack of money. They would like to have some support from the United States for donations and cloth for the women in Chiapas."