from By Stephanie Innes Arizona Daily Star
NO WORD FOR WALL For the Tohono O’odham Nation, the U.S.
border with Mexico is an unnatural line that divides their indigenous
homelands. About 2,000 of the tribe’s members live in Mexico, and many of them
use services such as the dialysis clinic, which is on the U.S. side in Sells.
Sells, the tribe’s capital, is about 60 miles southwest of downtown Tucson. The
expansive Arizona reservation is roughly the size of Connecticut. The tribe essentially
has a wall already, many members say. Most of the tribe’s border is already
lined with steel vehicle barriers that wind around saguaro cacti, across sacred
archaeological sites, and allow for rushing waters to cross the border through
washes that water their land during summer months. The added security has had
effects. Places where members can legally cross the border with tribal
identification cards have shrunk from seven to three in recent years, in some
cases tripling travel time to visit families and attend ceremonies in Mexico.
To learn more about the Tohon O’dam nation and how a wall
along the border would impact them go to
The thought that the TON Nation has no word for "wall" reminds me of Michael Moore's movie, Where To Invade Next. At the end Moore talks about another wall that used to be up and no longer is and how that happened. Then a couple weeks ago, a friend shared his definition of antiracism as everyone coming together, all welcome no matter what. And racism, he said, is about separating. So, now, in English, I have another word for wall. Thank you, friend!
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