1/23/21

NM District 2 Representative at odds with Native heritage over border wall

At least two American Indian nations straddle invisible international boundaries – the Mohawks with Canada in the northeast US and the Tohono O’odham Nation with Mexico in the southwest. Etched into the rhyolite on Signal Hill in Saguaro National Park about 800 years ago by the ancestors of the modern-day Tohono O'odham are their petroglyphs and rock art which are probably directions to water sources and hunting. 

Just hours after taking the oath of office, President Joe Biden issued the Proclamation on the Termination Of Emergency With Respect To The Southern Border Of The United States And Redirection Of Funds Diverted To Border Wall Construction.

Yvette Herrell is a member of the Cherokee Nation and the Republican New Mexico Representative from District 2 but her support for Herr Trump's border wall strains her ties with her Indigenous heritage.
According to the Tohono O’odham’s website, the Tohono O’odham Nation is a federally recognized tribe of more than 34,000 tribal members, including more then 2,000 residing in Mexico. When Tohono O’odham members are questioned on their position of the border wall, their first response is, “there is no O’odham word for wall.” Many oppose construction and cite the desecration of sacred sites and the violation of treaties. Herrell’s stance to oppose the halting of the border wall construction also undermines the Cherokee Nation of Mexico, who claim Cherokee descent after many migrated to Mexico during the 19th century. [Native News Online]
Every federal department and agency already recognizes Native America as the 51st State. While the Palestinian homeland looks like holes in the slice of Swiss cheese analogous to the illegal Israeli state, progress toward resolutions of Native trust disputes would have far more political traction after tribes secede from the States in which they reside and then be ratified to form one State, the 51st, sans contiguous borders with two Senators and two House members as there are an estimated 2.5 million Indigenous living on reservations.

No comments: