The Tohono O’odham Nation in southern Arizona, federally recognized in 1917, is huge; occupying more than 4,600 square miles of the Sonoran Desert, it’s about the size of Connecticut. Growing up, we called the people there Papago, but like a lot of other tribal nations, that was a name given to them by the European invaders, and in the 1980s they started to use Tohono O’odham, their name, in tribal affairs.
Descendants of the Hohokam, the O’odham historically occupied a much larger part of the Southwest, extending south into Mexico, north beyond Phoenix and west to the Gulf of California. They settled and traveled the enormous region for thousands of years, but following Mexican independence in 1821 the O’odham people fell under that country’s jurisdiction. Each time their status changed their land base shrunk.
After the end of the US-Mexican War in 1848 the US got much of northern Mexico, and finally with the Gadsden Purchase in 1853, the remaining southern section of Arizona, which includes Tohono O’odham lands, entered into the US, but part of the tribe’s territory was still in Mexico. Today most of the reservation’s people live on the Arizona side, but at least nine O’odham communities are in Mexico.
The border there has always been artificial: unlike borders that follow geographical features, whether mountains or rivers, the Arizona-Mexico border is an artificial boundary drawn by surveyors, who like straight lines (apparently they were drunk and used bad maps too, but that’s another story). A fenced border doesn’t pay heed to history and culture, and it sure doesn’t respect ecological realities, such as river flows, pollination or the migratory patterns of birds and critters.
It’s the same with the resilient O’odham people, who’ve never paid attention to the artificial line, often traveling back and forth between US and Mexican tribal communities in their homeland. That’s all changed, however:
In recent years, however, the border has come to affect the O'odham in many ways, because immigration laws prevent the O'odham from crossing it freely. In fact, the U.S.-Mexico border has become "an artificial barrier to the freedom of the Tohono O'odham. . . to traverse their lands, impairing their ability to collect foods and materials needed to sustain their culture and to visit family members and traditional sacred sites." O'odham members must produce passports and border identification cards to enter into the United States.
I’ve been down there hiking, and have seen O’odham people stopped by US Border Patrol agents, on their own land, as they travel to visit relatives or deliver goods. It’s an ugly, uncomfortable scene, with government agents who probably grew up elsewhere telling people whose ancestors lived on the land for millennia that they need identification to go home. The feds steal culture and identity, as well as land.
[O]n many occasions U.S. Customs have prevented Tohono O'odham from transporting raw materials and goods essential for their spirituality, economy and traditional culture. Border officials are also reported to have confiscated cultural and religious items, such as feathers of common birds, pine leaves or sweet grass.
So when Donald Trump puffed himself up and said he’s going to build a wall across the entire US-Mexico border, the Tohono O’odham Nation said “Not so fast”:
Tribal leadership of Tohono O’odham Nation in southern Arizona said they won't support a border wall project on their land. Part of their reservation extends into Mexico and covers 75 miles of the international border.
Tribal Vice Chairman Verlon Jose, who invited President-Elect Trump to the border to explain why a fence would not be a good idea for the tribe or the country, said “Over my dead body” will a wall be built. I wince a little when I hear “over my dead body” from an American Indian, since in the past that threat hasn’t stopped the dominant culture from stealing and exploiting native lands, artifacts and heritages (the DAPL protests are a fresh reminder).
Asshat lawmen whose territory is hundreds of miles from the border, like defeated bigot (yea!) Sheriff Joe Arpaio, fearmonger over the border nonstop, but ask people who live there. The tribe doesn’t want a wall, people who live along the border don’t want a wall, even law enforcement in the area doesn’t want a wall. Nogales is about 95 percent Hispanic. It’s a US city. Get it, Mr. Trump? Take your “rapists and murderers” BS and Judge Curiel slurs and cram it.
Go T.O.!