Their spirituality traditionally involves collecting and consuming peyote (Lophophora williamsii), a cactus that possesses hallucinogenic effects due to its psychoactive alkaloids, such as mescaline.

Once yearly, some Wixárika journey back to San Luís, their ancestral homeland, to perform "Mitote" Peyote (Hikuri, in Wixarika) ceremonies.

Other Wixarika communities include Guadalupe Ocotán (in Nayarit), and Santa Catarina and Tuxpán de Bolaños (Kuruxi Manúwe in Huichol) in Jalisco.

Central to the traditional religion of the Wixárika is the gathering of hikuri (a hallucinogenic cactus) in the place that they call Wirikuta, that is located in the region of Real de Catorce in the state of San Luis Potosí.

Hikuri does not grow in the region of Wixárika, but it is abundant in San Luis Potosí, territory that was at the center of the dominion of the Guachichiles before the arrival of the Spaniards.

The writings of Alonso Ponce, that date from the year 1587, indicate that the province of Tepeque was inhabited by an ethnic group who used to unite with the Guachichiles to carry out attacks and incursions on Spanish settlements and caravans.

The arrival of the Spaniards in territories of the Guachichiles in Zacatecas and San Luis Potosí had certainly brought epidemics to the Indigenous communities whose members had no resistance to the diseases of Europe.

In addition, those Natives who survived the epidemics suffered due to the concentrations and encomiendas carried out by the Spaniards in order to work the recently discovered mines of the region.

[12] In summer, when the rain comes, they live on their ranchos (farms) in tiny rancherias (hamlets) and make cheese from the milk from their cattle, which they slaughter and eat usually only during celebrations.

[13] For the most part, their diet consists of tortillas, made from the Blue, Red, Yellow or White "Sacred corn", beans, rice and pasta, the occasional chicken or pig (from which they make "chicharrones"), chili peppers, supplemented with wild fruits and vegetables of the region, such as "colorines", a legume gathered from trees, or "ciruelas" (wild plums) and guayabas (guavas).

Crafts of the Huichol include embroidery, Beadwork, sombreros (hats), archery equipment, prayer arrows, and weaving, as well as "cuchuries", woven or embroidered bags.

Where mules, horses and burros used to be the main forms of transport, trucks are becoming more prominent, importing food, medicines, and beer.

[15] Their religion consists of four principal deities: the trinity of Corn, Blue Deer and Peyote, and the Eagle, all descended from their Sun God, "Tao Jreeku".

"[25] "Before reaching Wirikúta, their final destination, they pass by the sacred springs of Tatéi Matiniéri ("Where Our Mother Lives"), the house of the eastern rain goddess.

Due to the desire to use this traditional plant recreationally (in the wake of Carlos Castaneda's books' undesired publicity), the Mexican government, with the help of international organizations, has passed laws allowing for its use in religious practices only and any other use or possession can be a crime worthy of ten to twenty-five years in prison.

[28] Indigenous people find it increasingly difficult to harvest their sacred plant and they have had to ask for intervention from the Mexican government to protect a section of their trail.

"[31] In traditional Huichol communities, an important ritual artifact is the nieli'ka: a small square or round tablet with a hole in the center covered on one or both sides with a mixture of beeswax and pine resin into which threads of yarn are pressed.

To preserve their ancient beliefs they have begun making detailed and elaborate yarn paintings, a development and modernization of the nieli'ka.

From the small beaded eggs and jaguar heads to the modern detailed yarn paintings in psychedelic colors, each is related to a part of Huichol tradition and belief.

[33] Indeed, Wixaritari, along with the Lacandons and other ethnic minorities in the country, have fought for their religious and cultural freedom since the arrival of the Spanish conquerors.

[34][35][36] These ethnic minorities are often portrayed as non-existent or as extremely marginal due to the stereotype of Indigenous people in Mexico as fervent Roman Catholics.

Wixarika people have also been victims of discrimination,[37] Indigenous rights violations[38] and even been stripped of their lands on the grounds of not sharing the same religious faith.

[39], a Canadian silver mining company, decided to purchase Cerro Quemado mineral rights, with 80% of their interest within the protected land.

While open pit mining itself removes entire habitats and landscapes, the addition of sodium cyanide, NaCN, is a lethal method requiring only 0.2 grams to kill a person.