An Indigenous Person Imprisoned in a Psychiatric Hospital for 12 Years for Wearing Ragged Clothes and Rambling...

A case involving a Mexican indigenous person who was hospitalized in a psychiatric institution in the United States for over 10 years for speaking an 'unknown language' is gaining renewed attention.

Documentary 'Women of Stars and Mountains' poster and producer information. [Image source=UNESCO Mexico social media (SNS) capture]

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On the 10th, Yonhap News cited the United Nations and BBC Latin news outlet BBC Mundo, reporting that the film 'Muki Sopaliroli Aligue Gawichi Nirugame' (meaning 'Woman of the Stars and Mountains' in the Rar?muri indigenous language) was screened in Mexico during April and May. Directed by Santiago Estainou, this work is based on the true story of Rita Marti?o Quintero (1930?2018), who was known to have been confined in a U.S. psychiatric hospital for over a decade.

Marti?o, a Rar?muri (Tarahumara) indigenous woman from Chihuahua in northern Mexico, loved dancing and singing, was skilled in using medicinal herbs, and was a prolific singer. In 1983, when border security with the United States was relatively lax, she got lost and wandered across rivers, valleys, and mountains, eventually reaching Kansas in the U.S. Midwest.

At that time, Marti?o, wearing dirty clothes and with legs covered in wounds, was caught by a pastor while eating raw eggs in a church. She was detained after using physical force against some police officers. Director Estainou explained, "Marti?o barely spoke Spanish and used her indigenous language, but there was no proper interpretation, leading to communication failure with local police officers. The officers apparently wrote ridiculous reports about Marti?o without understanding her at all." Ultimately, based on her appearance, behavior, and manner of speech, Marti?o was considered schizophrenic locally and was reportedly confined in a psychiatric hospital for 12 years.

In 1994, the Kansas Human Rights Center reviewed patients who had been hospitalized for over five years, and Marti?o was finally able to be discharged in 1995, after 12 years of institutionalization. Immediately afterward, with the support of a group of lawyers, Marti?o filed a lawsuit against the hospital and others, but settled for a much smaller amount ($90,000, approximately 124 million KRW) than the compensation the legal team had sought.

The United Nations commented on this case, stating, "Indigenous language users are socially very isolated in terms of access to justice," and emphasized that "training legal interpreters is urgently needed to ensure human rights protection."

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