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| Tohono O'odham Nation: 'Devastating and Entirely Avoidable Loss' |
Border Wall Construction Destroys 1,000 Year Old Sacred Place of Hia-Ced O'odham
Democracy Now!
https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-de... 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.”
Tohono O'odham Nation: 'Devastating and Entirely Avoidable Loss'
The Intercept -- Trump Bulldozed a 1,000-Year-Old Archaeological Site to Make Room for a Second Border Wall
DHS was in talks with the wildlife refuge that hosts the ancient site to make sure it was protected, a local archeologist said.
A rare archaeological site in the Sonoran Desert was bulldozed by a Department of Homeland Security contractor involved in building the latest sections of Donald Trump’s border wall, according to multiple sources briefed on the incident.
The area, in a remote corner of Arizona’s Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, is a roughly 280-by-50-foot etching in the desert sand known as an intaglio.
Last Thursday, without any notice, a contractor working for DHS cut a roughly 60-foot swath across the middle of the intaglio, doing irreparable damage to the 1,000-year-old artifact.
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Graphic News: Mexico Border Wall Design Takes Shape
Friday, May 1, 2026
Tucson, AZ – Congresswoman Adelita S. Grijalva released the following statement after a Department of Homeland Security contractor damaged a 1,000-year-old cultural site, the Las Playas Intaglio, during border wall construction on the Tohono O’odham Nation. This is not the first instance a cultural site on the Tohono O’odham Nation has been damaged.
“Bulldozing a 1,000-year-old sacred site is not an accident – it’s the predictable result of rushing forward with a (second) wasteful border wall. It is a blatant act of disrespect and an unacceptable violation of tribal sovereignty, traditions, and the ancestry of the O’odham people,” said Rep. Grijalva. “This is not just temporary damage to land – it is irreparable destruction of a sacred place tied to the O’odham people’s history, identity, and spiritual practices, passed down across generations. Unfortunately, this is not the first time a sacred site has been desecrated by border wall construction – and it will not be the last until the federal government takes its legal obligation to tribal consultation and following environmental laws seriously.”
“The Tohono O’odham Nation has been clear: these walls divide their communities, desecrate sacred land, and do nothing to make us safer. DHS must immediately halt construction, fully investigate this incident, and be held accountable for the damage already done. Instead of wasting $46 billion on a harmful and useless second border wall, this Administration should be investing in real solutions that strengthen our communities.”
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