Border Wall Construction Destroys 1,000 Year Old Sacred Place of Hia-Ced O'odham

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!

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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. 

Victory for Lakota Youths Protecting Sacred Pe'Sla

 Victory for Lakota Youths 

Protecting Sacred Pe'Sla

"We stopped the drilling, this is a victory for the Oceti Sakowin," Lakota youths said as the drilling rig drove out of sacred land.

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Company withdraws from controversial Black Hills exploratory drilling project

By:Seth Tupper-May 8, 2026

South Dakota Searchlight

A company that’s being sued for exploratory drilling near a culturally significant site in South Dakota’s Black Hills is withdrawing from the project, according to a letter shared with project opponents.

The opponents include the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance, which posted a copy of the letter and a statement Friday on social media.