The Tohono O'odham are a Native American tribe in the Sonoran desert,
the desert that includes land in both Mexico and the US. Tohono O'odham means "desert people;" there are other O'odham groups also described by where they live; sand, river, etc. They are all connected by the O'odham language. I think the Tohono are the largest group, but don't quote me.
Don't quote me on any of this. My learning curve is too steep, and the situation too complicated. So here is a glimpse of what I learned, and I encourage you to research further. Because these people, who have again and again been devastated by the laws and practices of the United States, are now being torn apart by our border policy.
Nellie Jo David is a young and visionary Tohono O'odham leader. Trained as a lawyer, she shared with the participants of Common Ground on the Border a bit of the impact the border has had on her people.
The original land of the Tohono O'odham people was vast, covering parts of what we today call Sonora, Mexico and Arizona, US. The people moved across the land depending on the season, and for key religious rituals. During Spanish and American expansion, the amount of their land was reduced, but the people still moved freely.
In 1853, the Gadsden Purchase drew a line right through the Tohono O'odham people, dividing the land between Mexico and US. The Tohono O'odham were not offered dual citizenship, but the US government promised that freedom of movement would be protected. Even as the community moved away from subsistence agriculture, they continued to value movement for religious festivals and visiting family.
But over time the border within the Tohono O'odham land has become more of an obstacle for the people. Several points in time have seen significant upticks in militarization of the border, including the introduction of NAFTA in the 1990s and after 9/11. Today Border Patrol have a strong presence at the border on O'odham land, questioning the people as they go about their business. It is more difficult for Tohono O'odham people to travel for the rituals that are a core part of their community. And the tribe have a sacred tradition of giving water to people, which tribe members feel has now been criminalized.
The border wall proposed by the Trump administration would likely include a huge dividing wall right through the Tohono O'odham land. This would make a difficult situation impossible for the people, ending their ability to move through their own land to visit family and perform rituals. The tribe as a whole are against the wall, and have said so officially. Meanwhile the O'odham leadership feels the need to make some agreements with Border Patrol and the National Security Agency, such as allowing more Border Patrol agents onto more of the land, and installing vehicle barriers. This cooperation is viewed as a betrayal by some within the tribe, creating more conflict.
Meanwhile, drug cartels try to move drugs and people through tribal land, bringing expensive challenges to tribal police. The Tohono O'odham have greatly reduced illegal activity on tribal land, and would like the US government to support these efforts, rather than putting money into a wall that will be an obstacle to the people, without effectively addressing immigration issues.
This feels like a pretty bad situation to me. We (speaking for white settlers in the US here) pushed these people onto a patch of land. We took their children to "educate" them. We brought in Christianity to "civilize" them. With food rations, disease, and alcohol we shortened their lives. Now we want to build a wall on the land to which we confined them, the land on which we promised they'd be able to move about freely. I know we need to have reasonable border control, but how much will we take away from one people?
When I was arriving in Green Valley, driving out from Tucson, I saw this breathtaking
white structure in the distance. I didn't know what it was, but it brought tears to my eyes. I discovered it is the famous White Dove of the Desert, the San Xavier Mission. I couldn't wait to go back and visit it during some free time.
Unfortunately I felt a little differently when I visited. The Mission is on the Tohono O'odham land. I heard there have been monastics at the mission over the years who are very committed to helping the Tohono O'odham people as well as immigrants, and the explicit purpose of the Mission is to serve the needs of the Tohono O'odham community in which it resides. I am grateful for the spiritual, emotional and interpersonal support the Mission offers its parishioners. But as a pastor in the Christian tradition, I cannot forget the way in which Christianity was used to break down tribal communities and families. Too often the Christian faith has been a tool for conquerors rather than a way for building justice and peace. Too often it has been a weapon for gaining power, rather than the compassionate way of Jesus.
Everything is complicated. A beautiful building can be a source of support for a community, and also symbolize loss of tradition. A border can build identity for a group of people, or break them apart.
The symbol for the Tohono O'odom people is "the man in the maze." It's actually a labyrinth, not a maze; there is only one path in and out. Of course there are many interpretations, but a tribe member described it to me as the journey of life, with all its twists and turns. Those twists and turns - and how we respond to them - make us who we are.
May the Tohono O'odom people continue to have the ability to continue the journey of their lives, in the maze of this world.
Some further reading / viewing:
https://tucson.com/there-s-no-o-odham-word-for-wall/youtube_0b61913b-1b8f-591d-bdf8-cce695ed8c3d.html
https://www.npr.org/2019/01/23/685812553/native-american-leader-a-border-wall-is-not-the-answer
https://www.usatoday.com/border-wall/story/tohono-oodham-nation-arizona-tribe/582487001/
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