#protectthesacred — Public Fediverse posts

Border agents pepper-spray #Arizona border 'tree sit' #protesters, arrest activist who locked self to truck

#BorderPatrol raids campsite of protesters trying to save last tree set to be razed by #BorderWall construction in Southern #Arizona

Mia Kortright
Updated Oct 7, 2026, 10:34 pm Originally posted Oct 7, 2026, 8:51 pm

"Activists trying to protect a centuries-old cottonwood in the path of border wall construction in Southern Arizona stopped work again Wednesday, after one person locked themselves to a construction vehicle and another remained in the tree.

"Border Patrol agents used pepper-spray on the protesters Wednesday evening, while the woman was tethered to a gravel hauling truck used in border wall construction.

"That marked the third day the site, dubbed "Camp O:Shad" by the activists, has been raided by Border Patrol agents.

"An activist had spent nearly seven hours locked to a gravel hauler used in construction Wednesday evening, and was still locked to it after 9 p.m. when BP agents attempted to take her into custody while using what appeared to be tear gas on surrounding protesters. It took agents about 30 minutes to saw through the device she used to lock herself to the vehicle before she was driven away from the site in a white Border Patrol pickup truck around 10:30 p.m.

"Other protesters could be heard on a live stream of the incident, calling 'We love you' to her throughout the evening.

"Minutes earlier, the activists said, agents started firing pepper balls while pushing the hauler with the person still locked to it. Demonstrators said agents also threatened to take her 'to the middle of nowhere where no one can hear you scream.'

"Activists said they called 911 Wednesday evening and asked for medical help. Patagonia Fire Department personnel responded, but were 'turned away' by Border Patrol officials.

"The group has camped at a property in the small hamlet of #LochielAZ since late July in an effort to prevent a small grove of Frémont #CottonwoodTrees , each estimated to be about 200 years old, from being demolished in #BorderWall construction.

"Construction crews this summer razed three of four in a cluster on the side on the United States side of the border. The final one, which the group named 'Grandmother,' was knocked down on Monday, the first day of the raid."

Read more:
https://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/100726_lochiel_protests/border-agents-pepper-spray-arizona-border-tree-sit-protesters-arrest-activist-who-locked-self-truck

#IndigenousNews #IndigenousSovereignty #USPol #BorderPatrol #ProtectTheSacred
#CulturalErasure #LochielAZ #Sonora
#DefundDHS #NoBorderwall #Resistance #ResistanceIsFertile #TrumpsWall #TribalSovereignty #NoBorders

For a Border Tribe, Trump’s Wall Is a Betrayal: ‘They Want to Erase Us’

By Reis Thebault
Visuals by Anna Watts
Sept. 17, 2026

Reis Thebault and Anna Watts reported from the #TohonoOodhamNation and #OrganPipeCactus National Monument. They traveled nearly the entire length of the tribal reservation’s 62-mile border with #Mexico.

"An escalating confrontation on Native land southwest of Tucson threatens to upend decades of uneasy cooperation between the #TohonoOodham and the United States."

Read more:
https://www.tonation-nsn.gov/nowall/latest-news/

#IndigenousNews #IndigenousSovereignty #TohonoOodham #USPol #Mexico #BorderPatrol #ProtectTheSacred #CulturalErasure #LochielAZ #Sonora #DefundDHS #NoBorderwall #Resistance #ResistanceIsFertile #TrumpsWall #TribalSovereignty #NoBorders

#CulturalGenocide on a day that celebrates #Genocide! Way to commemorate #IndigenousPeoplesDay, eh, #USGovt?

Judge rejects emergency request to halt border wall work on O’odham Nation
Court denies move to halt Trump admin construction set to start #ColumbusDay along Mexico border of Southern Az reservation

Paul Ingram, Posted Oct 8, 2026

"A federal judge rejected the #TohonoOodhamNation 's injunction request Thursday, allowing the #Trump administration to begin removing #saguaros and #ocotillos in the path of #BorderWall construction in #Arizona early next week.

"On Monday, Riyaz A. Kanji, an attorney for the #TohonoOodham Nation, filed an emergency motion asking the Washington D.C court to intervene because the case has moved to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and they have said they will not listen to arguments until later this year. The appellate court asked attorneys representing the Department of Homeland Security to file motions by Oct. 15 with replies from the tribe scheduled for Oct. 22.

"However, #DHS officials have said they intend to 'commence significant activity on the reservation in furtherance of his border project' on Monday, Oct. 12. This will include the removal of thousands of saguaros and ocotillo that stand in the path of the construction project, Kanji wrote. 'The destruction of massive numbers of #SaguaroCacti that will commence early next week absent intervention by this court constitutes quintessential irreparable harm.' "

Read more:
https://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/100826_oodham_appeal/judge-rejects-emergency-request-halt-border-wall-work-oodham-nation/

#IndigenousNews #IndigenousSovereignty #TohonoOodham #USPol #Mexico #BorderPatrol #ProtectTheSacred #CulturalErasure #LochielAZ #Sonora #DefundDHS #NoBorderwall #Resistance
#ResistanceIsFertile #TrumpsWall #TribalSovereignty #NoBorders

#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."

Read more:
https://www.kgun9.com/news/community-inspired-journalism/southside-news/tohono-oodham-faith-leaders-gather-in-prayer-to-protect-sacred-land-from-border-wall

#IndigenousNews #IndigenousSovereignty #TohonoOodham #USPol #Mexico #BorderPatrol #ProtectTheSacred #CulturalErasure #LochielAZ #Sonora #DefundDHS #NoBorderwall #Resistance
#ResistanceIsFertile #TrumpsWall #TribalSovereignty #NoBorders

#TohonoOodhamNation : #BorderWall Contractors to Begin Removing Sacred #Saguaro on Monday

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/10/tohono-oodham-nation-border-wall.html

#IndigenousNews #IndigenousSovereignty #TohonoOodham #USPol #Mexico #BorderPatrol #ProtectTheSacred #SaguroCactus #TraditionalFoods #LochielAZ #Sonora #DefundDHS #NoBorderwall #Resistance
#ResistanceIsFertile #TrumpsWall #TribalSovereignty #NoBorders