A leader of the Kumeyaay Indian community in her ancestral territory in Baja California along the US-Mexico border - stock photo

Baja California, Mexico, January 04 -- A representative of the Kumeyaay Indian community with traditional clothes visit a sacred area in the Indian reserve near the border between Mexico and the United States in the Tecate region in the state of Baja California, northern Mexico. The Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai or Kumiai, are a tribe of indigenous peoples of the Americas who live between northern Mexico and southern California, along a binational territory straddling the border which is considered essential for their survival. The Kumeyaay people are known as the oak people, a tree considered sacred and a source of sustenance, warmth and protection.