CALL TO ACTION BY THE TOHONO O'ODHAM INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

The following press release was issued by the O'odham Solidarity Project:



CALL TO ACTION BY THE TOHONO O'ODHAM INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

AGAINST THE US-MEXICO BORDER WALL



The Traditional Tohono O'odham Indigenous People Demand a Halt to the
Construction of

the US-Mexico Border Wall and the Destruction of Indigenous Nations.



The Tohono O'odham Nation has the second largest reservation recognized by
the United States,

with territory and members on both sides of the US-Mexico political boundary
in the states of

Arizona, US and Sonora, Mexico. As original people of the territory, the
Tohono O'odham have

lived on and cared for that land long before such a boundary even existed;
before there was a US

or a Mexico. Now, however, the construction of the border wall along the
entire US - Mexican

border is splitting border communities and Indigenous nations alike,
including the Tohono

O'odham.



The construction of this wall will destroy the Tohono O'odham way of life
(their traditions and

religious practices), not to mention the many rights sworn to the O'odham
people that are being

violated. Tohono O'odham elders and traditionalists maintain their legacy
through oral history,

conducting natural ceremonies that include offerings to the land and sea.
They also use many

plants and environmental resources of the region as a source of food and
medicine. But, many of

these sacred ceremonies take place in Mexico.



"This Wall and the construction of this Wall has destroyed our communities,
our burial sites, and

ancient O'odham routes throughout our lands. The entire International border
has divided and

displaced our people," says Ofelia Rivas, a representative of the
traditional Tohono O'odham in

Washington D.C. "The Wall is also severely affecting the animals. We now see
mountain lions

going into areas where people live because of the Wall."



The right of the O'odham to travel freely and safely via these traditional
routes in their territory

has previously been guaranteed under United States, Mexican, and
International Law. The US

government's American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 acknowledges
rights for the

O'odham people that the construction of the US-Mexico Border Wall directly
violates. By

restricting the mobility of the O'odham people, the Wall prevents the free
practice of their

religion and their cultural traditions. Further, rights granted by the
United Nations Universal

Declaration of Human Rights, the Declaration of Human Rights for Indigenous
Peoples, and the

American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man are also being ignored
due to a waiver

issued by the US Department of Homeland Security. Under this document, the
President claims

the power to waive any and all environmental and Federal Indian laws in
order to build the Wall

in the name of national security.



The US-Mexican border policies and the Wall have also increased the military
presence within

the O'odham lands, further affecting their lives and communities.



"This Wall has militarized our entire lands," states Ofelia Rivas, "We, as
original people, are

now required to answer to United States armed forces as to our nationality
on our own lands."

Ofelia Rivas, herself, was once asked, at gunpoint, to produce
identification to establish her right

to be on lands that she was born on and her ancestors lived on since before
Columbus.



Ironically, the increase in militarization of the US-Mexican Border has
coincided with the rise of

the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that went into effect in
1994. Supporters

at the time said NAFTA would decrease immigration and bring good paying jobs
to Mexico but

the exact opposite has happened.



"Many of the people crossing from Mexico into the United States are
indigenous people and

families," says Ofelia Rivas. "They tell me that under these free trade
agreements they can no

longer farm and make a living."



Under NAFTA it has become easier for commercial goods to cross the border
than people,

especially the Tohono O'odham. This is illustrated by a striking example
told by Mrs. Rivas:

"An O'odham elder and her daughter were interrogated and watched by United
States Border

Patrol guards as they collected traditional O'odham food in the desert."



Ofelia Rivas is in Washington, D.C. today with members of many different
Indigenous nations

and allies who have walked from San Francisco, California across the
continent to Washington,

D.C. This group calls their march "The People's Walk" not only for the
sovereignty of

Indigenous nations but also for the protection of sacred sites, plants, and
animals.



Thus, ordinary O'odham people and elders and their allies are issuing a call
to action against the

construction of the US-Mexico Border Wall. "As original peoples of these
lands," says Ofelia

Rivas, "we protest the violation of the thirty seven federal laws by the
April 1, 2008 Waiver by

Secretary Chertoff."



For More Information Contact:

O'odham VOICE Against the Wall and O'odham Rights Cultural and Environmental

Justice Coalition: Ofelia Rivas (520) 471-3398, uyarivas@hotmail.com,

http://www.tiamatpublications.com/odham_solidarity_project.html

The People's Walk: peoplejune13@yahoo.com

Earthpeoples: Rebecca Sommer: (718) 302-1949, www.earthpeoples.org