#TohonoOodham , faith leaders gather in prayer to protect #SacredLand from #BorderWall
By: Kenny Darr
Posted 8:00 AM, Oct 08, 2026 and last updated 8:35 AM, Oct 08, 2026
#TucsonAZ (KGUN) — Tohono O'odham leaders and people of many faiths gathered in prayer Wednesday in the Nation's #SanXavier District, with one message: protect this land from the border wall.
"The vigil comes days after crews cut down a #cottonwood estimated to be about 200 years old near #Lochiel to make way for the wall. Tohono O'odham Chairman #VerlonJose said crews plan to return Oct. 12 to start clearing vegetation along the Nation's border, including #saguaros.
" 'When people ask me what I think about the border and how does it make me feel, I tell them it is if someone got a knife and dragged it across my heart; it's a scar that never will be healed,' Jose told the crowd.
"The event began with a procession from Mission San Xavier del Bac to the San Xavier Community Center. Dozens walked carrying signs that read 'Tree spirits stand tall' and 'Don't let sacred saguaros be crucified like Jesus.'
"Jose became emotional as he addressed the crowd, telling them he had been crying even before he arrived. He said elders who once fought the wall have since died, and that some who remain say they don't want to live to see it built.
" 'The Tohono O'odham Nation will not stand down,' Jose told the crowd.
"In an interview with KGUN 9 after the vigil, Jose said #burial and #ArchaeologicalSites sit along the border in the wall's path.
" 'How would you like it if it came to your home, your apartment, to your gated community, and I destroyed your front yard, your backyard, and then asked you where are your relatives buried?' Jose said.
"He said those sites are known to the Nation and are kept private to keep them protected.
"Jose told the crowd the Nation's Legislative Council recognizes the #saguaro as a person.
" 'When you kill those, you're killing our children. You're killing our elders. You're killing our people, and we must protect them,' he said.
"On Monday, federal agents raided a #ProtestCamp near Lochiel in the #SanRafaelValley , where activists had kept a round-the-clock tree-sit for 71 days. Contractors then cut down the last of four #cottonwoods marked for removal. Activists said more than 10 people were arrested."
#IndigenousNews #IndigenousSovereignty #TohonoOodham #USPol #Mexico #BorderPatrol #ProtectTheSacred #CulturalErasure #LochielAZ #Sonora #DefundDHS #NoBorderwall #Resistance
#ResistanceIsFertile #TrumpsWall #TribalSovereignty #NoBorders
