Border wall would be an affront to Native Americans

Well before arbitrary and political borders divided us, members of my own Tohono O’odham Nation traveled freely to visit family, participate in cultural and religious events and for many other practices. To build up fortified walls means decimating our heritage and physically destroying our ancestral lands.

We oppose President Donald Trump’s immoral push for these barriers and more militarization of our communities. We call on Congress to reject every penny for the border wall.

It’s been agonizing to see our culture and community being replaced with cages and tear gas. We already see how border enforcement officials have caused the deaths of thousands of people simply seeking asylum and a better life. The Border Patrol occupation of the Tohono O’odham Nation makes it difficult for us to access our own sacred land, including sacred sites such as the Baboquivari Mountains. We’ve witnessed this president’s administration tear children from their mothers. I know how my own people have been separated from their families. But we didn’t cross the border, the border crossed us.

We should not be giving resources or funds — money so desperately needed for schools, health care and job creation on the Tohono O’odham Nation — to government agencies that carry out these crimes against humanity. Congress must reject funding for this border wall in its entirety.