Otomi–Toltec Peoples of San Pedro Tultepec, Lerma, Mexico
Dr. Mindahi C. Bastida Muñoz is a respected Indigenous scholar, ceremonial leader, and global advocate for biocultural rights. A member of the Otomi–Toltec Peoples of San Pedro Tultepec, Lerma, Mexico, he serves as a traditional authority within the Grand Council of the Eagle and the Condor and works to advance the Earth Mandates across 52 major bioregions worldwide—principles received in 2013 through ceremony in the Sacred Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
He is the General Coordinator of the Otomi–Toltec Regional Council of Mexico, an Otomi–Toltec Ceremonial Officer since 1988, and a longtime caretaker of his people’s ancestral philosophy and traditions. Dr. Bastida has served as a consultant to UNESCO on Sacred Sites and biocultural protection since 2012 and has held significant academic and institutional leadership roles, including Director of Sustainable Development at the Intercultural University of Mexico State, Director of the Original Caretakers Program at the Center for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary, and Director of the Original Nations Program at The Fountain.
An internationally recognized speaker and author whose books Ancestors and Rooted in Ethics have reached audiences in multiple languages, he has written extensively on Indigenous rights, sacred sites, traditional knowledge, collective intellectual property, and intercultural education, and his work has been featured in film projects now in production.
As a member of the URI Senior Advisory Council, Dr. Bastida brings profound wisdom from Indigenous cosmologies, decades of experience in intercultural dialogue, and a global network of collaborators dedicated to protecting sacred sites and advancing ecological balance.
His history of partnership with URI—including participation in the 2018 URI-Africa interfaith event at the African Union—positions him to help strengthen URI’s engagement with original nations, deepen its commitment to Earth ethics, and support new pathways of collaboration among spiritual, cultural, and ecological leaders worldwide. Dr. Bastida’s voice and leadership will enrich URI’s mission to foster enduring, respectful, and regenerative relationships among the world’s diverse communities.