Trump's border wall expansion just bulldozed an ancient tribal site
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
President Donald Trump’s expansion of the wall along the southern border with Mexico has damaged a rare Native American archaeological site in the Arizona desert, area residents said Thursday, as the administration moves to rapidly build hundreds of miles of additional barriers in a $46.5 billion project.
The aggressive expansion project — funded by the One Big Beautiful Bill — is erecting three miles of wall a week, introducing barriers in parts of Texas that did not previously have them, as well as a second wall in much of California, Arizona and New Mexico.
The construction is not abiding by environmental laws and other protections, alarming advocates, national park staff and Native Americans.
In Arizona, construction crews ran heavy machinery through and destroyed a roughly 60-to-70-foot swath of an intaglio, a more than 200-foot-long ground etching that looks like a fish and is thought to be at least 1,000 years old, said Richard Martynec, a retired archaeologist who now volunteers his time surveying the area.
Satellite imagery from Friday shows a disturbance crossing the intaglio area.
Lorraine Marquez Eiler, an elder of the Hia-ced O’odham Indigenous people, said the damage happened last week.
“If someone came to Washington and started destroying all the different sites that people in the United States revere, it’s the same thing for us,” Marquez Eiler said.
“Those things were made by our ancestors, and it’s hitting home. … For me, it’s an emotional subject,” she added.
The intaglio is inside Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, where a government contractor overseen by Customs and Border Protection has been working on the barrier project for weeks. The Interior Department administers the refuge.
An Interior Department staffer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, confirmed the intaglio had been damaged last week.
CBP did not immediately respond to questions about the damage.
The primary goal of the wall “is to gain operational control of the border,” the CBP website states. “These border barriers are intended to provide persistent impedance and denial to illegal cross-border activity.”
The Department of Homeland Security has issued waivers so that border wall construction does not have to follow laws that protect the environment or Indigenous sites, which normally require extensive study and planning to limit damages.
Most of the refuge is already separated from Mexico by a single wall, with the administration building a second parallel wall in a bid to increase security. Illegal crossings have fallen to historic lows under Trump, leading some conservation groups to question whether additional barriers are necessary.
Martynec found the intaglio in archaeological surveys of the area with his wife, also an archaeologist, in 2002.
While there are other intaglios near the Colorado River, this etching is unique for southwestern Arizona. “There are very few intaglios in this area, so by losing part of it, it’s a big deal,” Sandra Martynec said.
Native Americans made the intaglio by scraping the blackened stones on the ground to lay bare the white soil beneath, Richard Martynec said. It was probably used for ceremonies, although that and the intaglio’s exact age are hard to know.
Richard Martynec said he had visited the site about two weeks ago and saw stakes running through the intaglio and extending in both directions, appearing to mark the future path of the border wall.
There were no tire tracks leading up to the stakes, indicating that whoever placed them chose not to drive through the area.
“They knew something special was there,” he said.
At the time, construction seemed distant, he said, so he did not alert anyone to try to stop it. He had heard that government officials were actively discussing with locals how to mitigate any damage.
Native American residents, including the nearby Tohono O’odham Nation, have expressed concerns about other significant sites that lie in the path of proposed border wall construction. Those include Quitobaquito Springs, which is also home to endangered turtle and fish species, in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, as well as a Native American grave site.
Leaders of the Tohono O’odham Nation did not respond to a request for comment about the damaged intaglio.
“Somebody is responsible for this, and we all know who that is, and he should be held accountable for it,” Marquez Eiler said, referring to Trump. “He’s getting away with whatever he wants to do. He’s doing it. No one is stopping him.”
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Didn't realize the DHS has more constitutional power then does Congress. If I remember correctly, only Congress can give waivers to NEPA Fed Govnmnt contractors/construction.
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trump supporters are getting what they voted for ...
The Big Beautiful Bill and a Trump EO say they are exempt because this is another " National Emergency" exception.
This is a total outrage. Another incredbly offensive act committed by the Trumpist regime.
Someone is.
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I fail to see how responding to this sentence from the article
could possibly be off topic by offering up an example of exactly such an incident just this passed Friday.
Maybe the seeder can respond?
Sure - send me a pn of your comment - glad to point it out to you.
my response ( in agreement)
There aren't even pictures of the "crime", first they tried to tarp over the "offensive affronts to the nation" then they hired painters to paint over the "protest material"
within hours.
Never happened at an Indian sacred place disturbed by non native Americans,, they just bulldoze them or drive over them because they don't respect them.
but thanks for the response and not "quitting".
What happened, did I Mention Trump in violation of some unwritten Red Book Rules?
And while we are at it, what is with the insert of a warrior with war paint on his face?
A threat?
Your example of painting "86 47" does not compare to the destruction of secular/religious sites as required by Fed law. The painting is easily repairable - the destruction of sacred/religious sites that are over 1,000 years old and being used for ceremonies is not repairable.
Listed/marked as off-topic as the comparison do not equate.
The image?? Came with the thread from the news - no message intended. Not all face painting is an invitation to fight
Face painting traditions varied significantly between tribes (such as the Lakota, Cherokee, or Navajo) and were deeply intertwined with individual dreams, personal visions, or achievements.
Colors were derived from natural materials like clay, charcoal, and plants.
AI generated by Google -
Helpful?
When was the last time this petrograph was used for a ceremony considering it can only be seen from the air and where in the article does it say it is irreparable?
As compared to what? White people who revere Lincoln and the Lincoln Monument?
Radical Republicans who can't stand any push back from independents or liberals?
Good to know you believe you have all the answers.
Honest to ( whatever you believe ) it's like the more I try to help you, the more you push back because you think we are on opposite sides.
Fuck AI generated by any computer.
Not at all, thanks.
Definitely not much help SP - please quit trying.
I'm going to let the Mods handle this. If they don't find any concerns, this will be my last post.
we all agree with you about this - why should you say this is your last post?
I'm sure Perrie will do the right thing. Fine by me.
The US society is complex. There are many traditions, historic sites, etc., that have been preserved over the decades out of respect and following the basic wishes of the people.
It sucks that an administration can come in and ignore all these factors (including the law) and impose its changes based on a myopic agenda.
Indeed.
History of the world - whoever wins the battle writes the history/laws - and we know who won that one.
It's sad that support for Trump was so strong among Native Americans. He disregarded their sacred spaces during his first term, and it's no surprise that he's doing the same this time around.
On election night, a topline exit poll by the National Election Pool administered by Edison Research and circulated by numerous news outlets indicated that 65% of Native American voters cast their ballots for Donald Trump. While we know that exit polls have a wide range of limitations when they are used for analysis of sub-groups of the electorate, the Edison exit poll elicited several responses from Native American leaders and organizations who equated this as disinformation on Native American voters .
Looking at the results posted in the link, Trump didn't get the margin of being strong.
The Nations/Tribes have been sending him messages that he needs to follow up on - but he likes war instead I guess.
I dunno, I'd say 39% of trees voting for the axe is a pretty strong showing for the axe. And some of those trees still carry water for the axe, and pretty regularly insult those who speak against the axe.
So it would be logical to say that 61% against using the axe would be a higher weight/stronger?
Yes.
But I'd also say that 39% voting for and, in some cases, persistently defending the axe, is a stronger showing than the axe should have had.