Corrections and clarifications: An earlier edition of this article misrepresents that of the protest opposed to the structure of border walls.
A long-time confrontation between O’odham protesters and the federal government in a border wall structure ended Monday afternoon with pushes and pushes as border officials and park rangers physically cleared the area.
The 7 a. m. se protest opposed a replacement fence in the Quitobaquito domain of the Organ Pipe National Forest in southwestern Arizona, a domain with a spring that the other inhabitants of O’odham saborated.
After a blessing and prayer, organizers of the O’odham Anti-Border Collective led an organization of about 25 protesters from Tucson and other parts of Arizona to the structure on the U. S. -Mexico border. They carried a banner that said, “Borders — genocide, there is no wall in the land of O’Odham. “Many members of the structure staff recorded the action on their cell phones.
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Concrete for the installation of the barrier uses nearby groundwater that began to wreak havoc in Quitobaquito and the sacred source of Hia-Ced O’odham territory.
Work stopped after protesters set up camp on the site.
In the afternoon, National Park Service officials arrived at the site and warned the organization to move for security reasons.
It is closed to the public, said a ranger, due to the structure and heavy equipment.
Three more warnings followed, with the organization standing. The protesters spoke to each other, some began to do an O’odham prayer song while the sage burned the organizers. Temperature at 1 p. m. 106 degrees.
The confrontation between the protesters and the National Park Service continued until 2 p. m. when a caravan of 25 border patrol officers arrived at the site, some carried paintball guns; other AR-15s.
The protesters tied their arms to form a human barrier as border patrol officers approached. The park rangers walked towards the protesters and snatched a weapon from the human chain. The physical altercation escalated when a ranger pulled out a stun gun.
Above a bull horn, O’odham organizers began talking to Border Patrol agents.
“We sing songs to make our land heal,” one protester said. “O’odham will be there on both sides of the border. We exist on both sides of this imaginary line.
“We are facing the generational trauma of their abuse,” one protester said at one point.
“We’re done, that’s all. You don’t control the border, you terrorize everyone here, from Texas to California and in the middle,” added another.
At 2:42 p. m. , Border Patrol officers and two park rangers rushed towards the protesters, throwing others to the ground as they struggled to sustain others. protesters pushing them back.
Officers armed with paintball guns pointed to the remaining protesters as officers removed them from the structure site.
No arrests were made and some protesters gave the impression of having imaginable scratches and bruises.