Contractors Razed a 1,000-Year-Old Indigenous Site to Build Trump’s Border Wall

Construction crews in Arizona who are building President Trump’s expanded border wall have razed a portion of a Native American archeological site in the Sonoran Desert estimated to be at least 1,000 years old. Aerial photos reveal that bulldozers caused extensive damage to a 280-by-50-foot etching in the desert sand known as an intaglio, which holds special significance for the Hia-Ced O’odham people.

Lorraine Marquez Eiler, co-founder of the International Sonoran Desert Alliance and an elder of the Hia-Ced O’odham, says locals informed both the work crews and Border Patrol officials about the significance of the intaglio.

“On Thursday, late afternoon, they were still talking about how to protect the area and went home feeling that they were still working together. On Friday, for whatever reason, the contractors bulldozed the area,” says Marquez Eiler.

“This wall cuts through sovereign ancestral lands that existed long before the U.S.-Mexico border,” adds Congressmember Adelita Grijalva, whose district includes the area. “The federal government is prioritizing this rapid construction of an unnecessary wall without any meaningful tribal consultation.”

TRANSCRIPT

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AMY GOODMAN: In Arizona, construction crews working on President Trump’s expanded border wall with Mexico have destroyed a portion of a thousand-year-old Native American archeological site in the Sonoran Desert. The Washington Post reports bulldozers caused extensive damage to the rare 280-by-50-foot etching in the desert sand known as the intaglio, which holds special significance for the Hia-Ced O’odham people.

We’re also joined now by an elder of the Hia-Ced O’odham. Lorraine Marquez Eiler is co-founder of the International Sonoran Desert Alliance and lives in the town of Ajo near the U.S.-Mexico border.

Thank you so much for being with us, Lorraine. What has happened there? What is this new, expanded border wall and these ancient remains being destroyed?

LORRAINE MARQUEZ EILER: Thank you for having me.

What has happened is that last — last week, on April 30th, there was a group of women runners who practice — were practicing their culture, came upon a place not too far from where the intaglio is located, a place called Quitobaquito Pond. And so, they went a little bit further just to see if they could spot the workers, because they had been informed that the border wall was being worked on. And so they went further along the wall, and as they came over a rise, they saw a bulldozer coming near the intaglio. So, at that point, one of them called me and told me about what was going on and for me to alert individuals, which I did. But the person also called other officials at the Tohono Oʼodham Nation. And so, we were informed on that Thursday.

Since then, I have found out that not only the tribe, the Tohono Oʼodham Nation, but also officials from Cabeza Prieta Wildlife Refuge were also trying to decide how to protect the area and informing, informing the workers or the Border Patrol, about the importance of the intaglio and that it should not be disturbed. So, on Thursday late afternoon, they were still talking about how to protect the area and went home feeling that they were still working together.

On Friday, for whatever reason, the contractors bulldozed the area. And it’s ironic, because the rest of the group were further west, where they were starting to work from that point. And so, the question is — some of our questions are: Why did they leave the main group where they were supposed to start the fence? Why did they leave that area and move further up just to hit the intaglio? Because they went over the intaglio. It’s a huge, 200-feet-long intaglio, and they messed up 60 to 70%. I have not seen the site, and I have not talked to anybody since then, but — since then. But the question is: Why did they leave their main group and come over just to demolish that part of the intaglio? And my thought is that, possibly, because they don’t want to be stopped, so even though they were in discussions about the protection of the intaglio, they just ignored that and came on and bulldozed the area and then stopped. So, that’s a question I have on that.

AMY GOODMAN: Congressmember Grijalva, what can you do about this as a congressmember in the U.S. House of Representatives?

REP. ADELITA GRIJALVA: [inaudible] serve on Natural Resources. So, we continue to have this conversation with a lot of different projects. In this specific case, this wall cuts through sovereign ancestral lands that existed long before the U.S.-Mexico border. The federal government is prioritizing this rapid construction of an unnecessary wall without any meaningful tribal consultation, as was just noted, and they’re not honoring the government-to-government relationship and sacred site protection requirements at all. Many O’odham families and ceremonial traditions extend across both sides of the border. This wall is going to create a barrier for the nation.

But, I mean, there is no — they don’t care. They don’t care. Whether that is a contracted company working with the government or federal government employees themselves, their priority, based on this administration, is you build the wall regardless. And they don’t care. And we’ve heard that from the nation many times. I’ve had a visit in my office with Chairman Verlon Jose four times in the last month and a half, and this issue continues to come up.

AMY GOODMAN: Finally, we just have 30 seconds, Congressmember Grijalva. I wanted to ask you about another issue as we move into our last segment on the war on Iran. Thirty House Democrats — you have joined them — sent a letter this week to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who may be running for president, urging the Trump administration to publicly acknowledge Israel’s undeclared nuclear weapons. It was led by your colleague, Texas Democratic Congressmember Joaquin Castro. The lawmakers write — you write — quote, “Congress has a constitutional responsibility to be fully informed about the nuclear balance in the Middle East, the risk of escalation by any party to this conflict, and the administration’s planning and contingencies for such scenarios. We do not believe we have received that information.” You’re one of the people who signed on to this letter. Tell us why.

REP. ADELITA GRIJALVA: Well, withholding information prevents Congress from understanding the full implications of the current conflict, including nuclear proliferation. So we have to know. And this administration has bypassed Congress at every opportunity they can. And we’re demanding transparency on Israel’s nuclear capabilities, ending this decadeslong ambiguity.

AMY GOODMAN: Democratic Congressmember Adelita Grijalva of Arizona, thank you for joining us from Tucson, and Lorraine Marquez Eiler, elder of the Hia-Ced O’odham Indigenous people, co-founder of the International Sonoran Desert Alliance.

Coming up, an often-forgotten group of workers caught in the middle of the U.S.-Israel war on Iran: over 20,000 seafarers who have been stranded on ships for over two months. Back in 20 seconds.

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AMY GOODMAN: “Oleada,” performed by Julieta Venegas in our Democracy Now! studio.