NCAI Battles Border Wall: Tohono O'odham Chairman Speaks out for Warriors on the Frontline
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| Screenshot from Tohono O'odham Nation video. |
They want to murder our relatives, Saguaro. We're not going to allow them to do that. -- Tohono O'odham Chairman Verlon Jose
By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, Oct. 24, 2026
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- Tohono O'odham Chairman Verlon Jose told the National Congress of American Indians that the U.S. government plans to murder O'odham relatives, the Saguaro, which have personhood.
During his presentation on a panel on sacred lands, Chairman Jose described efforts to stop the monstrous border wall from being constructed and gave priority to their court case and warriors on the frontline.
"Right now, we have warriors on the front line -- right now. We have warriors on the front line and they said, 'We're going to do what we do best, and that is prayer. We're not protesting, we're here in prayer, and we believe our prayer is strong."
Sharing the warriors' words, he said, "We believe our prayer is stronger than anything out there."
"Whatever comes before us, we're going to stand here in prayer."
Although Chairman Jose called for support at NCAI, O'odham at home were told that the trespass order is still in effect, which means that non-O'odham supporters will be cited and removed. At home, Jose said that no protests are allowed.
During his presentation on NCAI's sacred lands panel at NCAI's 83rd annual convention, Chairman Jose spoke on the tribe's resolution which gives Saguaro personhood.
"They are killing our family, the Saguaro."
The tribe's legislative council passed a resolution recognizing the Saguaro, from the smallest one to the two-hundred-year old Saguaros as people, he said.
"They have personhood, and that's what they are going to do, they are going to murder them."
"We are not going to allow them."
O'odham need each tribal leader to stand with the Tohono O'odham and the leaders protecting Bears Ears, Chaco and other sacred places, he said.
"They do not have the authority to desecrate our sacred land."
When asked how does the government's plan to build a border wall set a precedent for Indian country, Chairman Jose said, "One of the foundations of NCAI is to protect sovereignty."
"That's what NCAI stands for."
Speaking on the border line and border wall, he said this has been done since the 1800s, when they put the border line there and never once talked to O'odham, who have three traditional properties here.
He pointed out that the US government waived environmental laws and other laws to build the wall on the Tohono O'odham Nation.
When the border line was created, it left the Tohono O'odham Nation with 62 miles of international border, he said. In 2017 these attacks on Tohono O'odham sovereignty started again, with the government waiving laws.
"If this can happen to Tohono O'odham, if this can happen to us, it can happen to each and everyone one of you out there," he said, adding that it endangers Bears Ears, Chaco and Tohono O'odham.
"We must rise and say 'No' to the government, 'No more.'"
Chairman Jose pointed out that the US President, commissions and secretaries do not have the legal authority to diminish their land. As for the legislative fixes, he said the tribe filed a lawsuit, and litigation takes time.
Further, an injunction was denied, and is now on appeal.
He spoke on the need to vote. "We need to change the way this US government operates. and it is not going to happen if we sit idle."
Chairman Jose said tribes need to stop this monstrous destruction of Chaco and Bears Ears. He said this should be done by voting into office those that can make congressional law, legislation, to stop this.
"We need a true government to protect the original peoples of this land."
When asked what other tribes can do, Chairman Jose recalled the words of O'odham elders.
"I'll tell you what the elders told us when we started this journey, 'Let's not forget about prayer, let's not forget about ceremony, because that is who we are."
O'odham elders told leaders that prayer prepares the people for this world and other worlds, he said.
Chairman Jose said the way to support is to write letters, visit their website, and join together. "Tribes need to band together."
There is power in the people, he said, urging them to stand up against this and change the legislation.
On the sacred lands panel were Santo Domingo Pueblo Governor Raymond Aguilar, Jr., and Davina Smith-Idjesa, Diné, co-chair of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition. Tohono O'odham Legislative Council members also spoke during this week's annual convention hosted by the Agua Caliente Tribe.
NCAI Resolution: Border Wall Violates Federal Laws
NCAI's resolution opposing the border wall construction points out this is a violation of tribal sovereignty and identifies federal laws that are being waived. It states the tribe was given as little as two minutes before agents and construction crews entered the sovereign Tohono O'odham Nation.
"NCAI has opposed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) DHS Secretary’s waiver of laws to build a border wall (NCAI Resolution ECWS-08-001), the Secretary has chosen to waive the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.), the Eagle Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 668 et seq.), the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (Pub. L. 96-95 (16 U.S.C. 470aa et seq.) and numerous additional cultural, environmental, and other laws." Photo: Tohono O'odham Nation |
| Masked and armed federal agents blocked Tohono O'odham tribal police from entering their own land in August. The Border Patrol's special ops, and BIA police escorted in border wall construction crews who immediately began drilling. On the south side of the border, armed Mexican police were positioned in support of the US government. The US government plans to build a double wall here, over the tribe's opposition, which includes the destruction of sacred places, burial places and blowing up six mountain peaks. Here, in the Sonoran Desert, the US plans to drill water wells on sovereign tribal land and seize tribal lands for construction sites. It also plans to bulldoze Saguaro, O'odham relatives, and even if they are transplanted, the tribe says less than half are expected to survive. The border wall will separate O'odham, who live on both sides of the border line, in their own ancestral land. The US government and construction crews violated a federal judge's order to consult and co-ordinate with the tribe before proceeding. -- Censored News |
Read more:
Native American Rights Fund: Tribal Nations Oppose Federal Government's Trespass in Border Wall Case
Amicus Brief, Friends of the Court
https://narf.org/tribal-nations-oppose-federal-governments-trespass-in-border-wall-case/ |
| All Pueblo Council of Governors |
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"The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is the oldest, largest, and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization serving the broad interests of tribal governments and communities. For the past 80 years, NCAI has stood on the front lines protecting, convening, and advocating on many issues and policies impacting tribal sovereignty and Native peoples. The National Congress of American Indians Foundation (NCAIF) emerges as a historic undertaking, uniquely situated at the nexus of both time-honored and contemporary cultural legacies of Native peoples, the power of tribal governments, and authentic partnerships with the philanthropy sector."
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