Tribal leader: Work to build border wall hurts sacred land
Source: Associated Press
By ANITA SNOW
an hour ago
PHOENIX (AP) A Native American leader from Arizona grew emotional Wednesday as he told a congressional committee about the pain members of his tribe feel about U.S. officials blasting through land they consider sacred to build part of President Donald Trumps wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
No one reveres our military veterans more than the Oodham, however, dynamiting these sacred sites and burial grounds is the same as bulldozing Arlington National Cemetery or any other cemetery, Tohono Oodham Nation Chairman Ned Norris told lawmakers in Washington.
His testimony came hours after the government carried out a new round of explosions near the southern border as a group of invited journalists watched. Construction crews this month began blasting and bulldozing through hills to build a 30-foot (9-meter) steel wall 60 feet wide (18 meters wide) in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
Environmental groups also are decrying the work at the national parks system site thats named for its cactuses resembling organ pipes and is a largely untouched example of Sonoran Desert habitat.
Read more: https://apnews.com/5381ad657d0ad69224e991d7717a6698
JohnnyLib2
(11,212 posts)K & R for exposure.
sakabatou
(42,186 posts)Bayard
(22,181 posts)hellno45
(67 posts)burrowowl
(17,653 posts)Welcome to DU
hellno45
(67 posts)2naSalit
(86,843 posts)Because we resist.
Kali
(55,026 posts)Mosby
(16,385 posts)They lied to people so they could open casinos.
Don't be deceived. The Tohono O'odham casino is fraud
From the concealment of Tohono O'odham's true intentions during the compact negotiations to false assurances amid the 2002 campaign to ratify the tribal gaming compacts to the constant spin from their pro-casino lobbyists, truth has been in short supply for years.
....
This casino should never be allowed to open. The Tohono O'odham's deceit should nullify the possibility of their opening this facility, as should the fact that such a casino is, according to Arizona's governor, "contrary to the public interest."
We deem it vital that the public understand exactly what is at stake. Should this tribe's Glendale casino be allowed to open, it surely will not be the end of their greedy scheme, but merely the beginning.
Last year, the federal government in what we mayors feel is a massive overreach granted the Tohono O'odham the ability to build not one, but up to four casinos on unincorporated islands in Maricopa County. Should the Tohono O'odham be allowed "to force a casino on the people of Arizona," as Gov. Ducey noted, more rogue gaming facilities will surely follow.
https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2015/04/26/let-tohono-oodham-profit-fraud-casino/26333951/
So the NAs in AZ are heavily into vice. Gambling is an addiction for a lot of people. The city of Phoenix is now completely ringed with casinos. All sucking out money from the community.