Destroy to rebuild. To build the border wall that is so dear to his heart and which he made a main argument of his election campaign in 2016, Donald Trump is ready for anything. Even if this is done at the expense of Native American treasures. In Arizona, on the border between Mexico and the United States, the construction teams of the wall began the blasting of Monument Hill, a hill located on protected land and sheltering graves of the Tohono O'odham tribe.
US Customs and Border Protection have confirmed to The Intercept that " controlled explosions " have been carried out, and are expected to continue until the end of the month in the Organ Pipe Cactus Indian Reserve . However, it is classified as a national monument in the United States, which makes the territory a protected area. And since 1976, the park has been recognized as a biosphere reserve by Unesco.
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" We have lived in this area since time immemorial ," Tohono O'odham tribe chief Ned Norris Jr told The Arizona Republic daily. . They are our ancestors. They are the vestiges of our identity, throughout this region. Environmental groups are also warning of possible damage to the ecosystem and to wildlife.
Saguaro cacti are a protected species in Arizona, which it is forbidden to destroy. Mary Evans / Mary Evans / ABACA
This did not discourage the contractors responsible for the construction of the wall. Saguaro cacti, a protected species which it is prohibited to destroy or unearth without authorization in Arizona, have been uprooted in order to make way for a road allowing trucks, cranes and other construction vehicles to be transported.
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For Raúl Grijalva, Arizona Democratic representative to Congress, the destruction of this site is " sacrilege ." The elected official, who visited the reserve, also claims that the government did not consult the tribal leaders before starting construction work in the national park. " You would think that in a situation like this, which involves human remains, burial sites, bone fragments traced and dated a thousand years or more, there would be a certain sensitivity on the part of the Department of Homeland Security and Administration. There are not any. "
I just got back from the border.
This week, Trump blew up a sacred Native American hill on public land to build his racist wall.
Watch my new update and join the growing movement to stop the wall. #NoBorderWall pic.twitter.com/YgmS94vAwO
The extension of the Donald Trump Wall was made possible by the REAL ID Act, which gives the Department of Homeland Security the power to override existing laws for the protection of the environment and endangered species if these are an obstacle to national security. According to a National Park Service report obtained by the Washington Post, the construction of the Trump wall would threaten 22 archaeological sites at Organ Pipe Cactus.
