American Indians fear U.S.-Mexico border wall will destroy ancient culture

[Elderberry]

Reuters by Ellen Wulfhorst 6/12/2018

EL PASO, Texas (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - To the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Indians, the water of the Rio Grande that divides the United States and Mexico sanctifies religious rites and purifies their hunts.

Indian communities living miles away use the river to send messages to fellow tribes downstream, tribal chief Jose Sierra told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“They go to the river and talk to the river, and the river sends it down,” said Sierra, a barrel-chested man with long, graying hair and thick turquoise bracelets at his wrists.

“They put messages in the river that come to us through the water.”

But now tribal leaders fear a proposed border wall as envisioned by U.S. President Donald Trump will sever access to the river, spoiling traditions and ruining ancient culture.

The Ysleta and more than two dozen American Indian tribes - designated by U.S. law as sovereign nations governing themselves - live along the 1,900 mile (3,060 km) border with Mexico, with some vowing to fight the wall to defend tribal culture.

Rene Lopez, a member of the Ysleta Traditional Council, said if the chief asked tribal members to knock down the wall, “we’ll do it. That’s how deeply it means to us.”

For while Trump and his supporters say a security wall is necessary to stop drug smuggling and illegal immigrants from Mexico, Indian leaders say otherwise.

“Back off, Trump. Let us be,” said Sierra, whose ancestors settled in Texas in 1682 after being forced out of New Mexico during violent conflicts with Spanish settlers.

But experts say the likelihood of stopping the wall with claims of Indian sovereignty or freedom of religion is unlikely, even though for some its impact could be dramatic.

CUT OFF FROM LAND

The Tohono O’odham people in southern Arizona live on a reservation that straddles the border and would be cut in two.

“It would be just devastating,” said Verlon Jose, vice chairman of the Tohono O’odham, told the Foundation.

More: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-border-indians/american-indians-fear-u-s-mexico-border-wall-will-destroy-ancient-culture-idUSKBN1J903W

[dfwgator]

I'm surprised nobody has said it will contribute to Global Warming, yet.

[dfwgator]

Oh yeah, ancient cultures that sacrificed children,   real big loss there.   

[edpc]

“They put messages in the river that come to us through the water.”


That 'Europeans conquered you' message must be stuck in an eddy.

[WingNot]

I had a song for this thread,  but i lost it.

[Frank Cannon]

LOL. This so called chief's resume reads like something out of Mad Magazine...

The pueblo said Sierra is a photographer who has worked as a film location scout for several movies shot in El Paso, including “Lone Wolf McQuade,” starring Chuck Norris, and “The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training,” starring William Devane.

Officials said Sierra is known for his culinary skills and was the World Chili Cook-off champion in 1971.

https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/local/community/2017/08/25/jose-sierra-sr-new-chief-ysleta-del-sur-pueblo/603582001/

[Frank Cannon]

I had a song for this thread,  but i lost it.

You're slipping old man.....

! No longer available

[Frank Cannon]

Just posting this because it was Cher when she was hot....

! No longer available

[WingNot]

What tribe are they? The fukawa

[GtHawk]

Just posting this because it was Cher when she was hot....

! No longer available

There was a time I thought Cher was hot, but thankfully I grew out of adolescence.

[WingNot]

You're slipping old man.....

Thanks for pointing that out.   I would like to point out that I may not be as good as I once was, but I am as good once, as I ever was.

[Frank Cannon]

There was a time I thought Cher was hot, but thankfully I grew out of adolescence.

Plus she got ugly after Silkwood.

[Smokin Joe]

"American Indians" are not some monolithic culture. Hundreds of bands and tribes have no shared rituals with those South of the Border, but still have to push 1 for English.