Western Arizona and Northern Sonora in their efforts to maintain their traditional culture
and ancestral land in areas currently under colonization by the United States and Mexico
Specifically, this project will seek to raise awareness about a proposed project of the
Department of Homeland Security / Border Patrol to build a permanent wall across the
Arizona/Mexico border - a wall that will bisect the traditional O'odham lands and severely
limit the rights of ancestral passage.
In addition, this project will illuminate the ongoing intersection between environmental
racism and the colonial occupation of indigenous lands.
The O'odham Solidarity Project is an autonomous solidarity project and does not claim to
represent any specific group other than itself.
| An Interview with Ofelia Rivas of "O'odham Voice Against The Wall" Interviewed By Jeff Hendricks |
| Imperialism – lately this word has been re-entering debate and speech around the country. For the most part these days, the word imperialism is being used to describe the actions of the United States Government as it seeks to gain control over Middle Eastern governments and economies. The continuing occupation of Iraq by the United States is the best example of this neo-imperialism. But imperialism is not limited to lands across the oceans, and the United States Government is currently engaged in the occupation of lands much closer to home. We must never forget that the very lands claimed by the Government of the United States in North America are claimed by nothing other than the right of conquest. The United States Government is a Government of occupation here in North America and the lands that it continues to claim and occupy are in spirit still the autonomous territories of the indigenous tribes that existed here before the first European colonists stepped foot on the continent. Since 9-11 the United States government has ratcheted up its attacks against the indigenous residents of the United States. In southern Arizona, these attacks have come in the guise of borderland defense. The traditional O’odham residents of southern Arizona have become the victims of a joint program carried out by the Department of Homeland Security and the Border Patrol to build a border wall across the entire 330 mile U.S / Mexico border, a 65 mile section of which will run along the southern edge of the Tohono O’odham reservation. This wall will effectively cut in half the traditional territory of the O’odham and serve to isolate O’odham villages that exist on opposite sides of the international border. To justify the building of this wall the government has once again used the fear of terrorism, as has become common since 9/11, to advance its fascistic imperialist interests. Click here to view the entire interview in Adobe reader format |
Please take a moment to sign our petition and write letters to the officials
listed on the Green Action Webiste.
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| Our Way Of Life By Ofelia Rivas |
The O’odham way of life is based on the land that has held the remains of our ancestors since the creation of this world. The O’odham did not migrate from anywhere according to our oral history. Our creation tellings record our history and teach the O’odham the principles of life. The survival of O’odham today is our him’dag. The Tohono O’odham Nation’s collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security's inhumane border policies is an outright violation of the O’odham him’dag - the traditional O’odham way of life. Although the Tohono O’odham Nation is a sovereign nation, it has no control of it’s lands and has no control over the administration of it’s own tribal form of government. Without true sovereignty, the tribal government lacks the authority and ability to denounce the abuses of human life and the irreparable destruction of the natural habitat of our relatives - the plant life and animal life. This in direct violation of the O’odham principles of life. Click here to view entire article... |
| THE O'ODHAM VOICE AGAINST THE WALL |
| The O'odham VOICE Against the WALL is organizing and advocating for the traditional O'odham leaders of the O'odham communities in the Southern Territory of Mexico and the Northern Territory of the United States. The O'odham VOICE Against the WALL is training O'odham youth on Indigenous Rights and O'odham Rights. The O'odham VOICE Against the WALL is training O'odham youth to recognize Human Rights violations and O'odham Rights violations. The O'odham VOICE Against the WALL is training O'odham youth to document Human Rights violations and O'odham Rights violations through creative writing, photography, video film making and artistic expression, such as music, artworks and spoken word. How To Support: Wish List: travel funds, cameras, film supply, video camera and film, computer equipment, website... Community Needs: a community work truck, legal assistance, grant writing, sustainable economic development... |
Please remember that every little bit helps!
Donate to the O'odham Voice Against the Wall
Mail well concealed cash or money order to:
PO. Box 1835
Sells, Arizona 85634
| Donate $10 or more online through this webiste to the O'odham Voice Against the Wall and receive a solidarity sticker to show your support. (Sticker is pictured at left and printed on vinyl) |
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Resistance and Collaboration: O'odham Responses to U.S. Invasion By Jeff Hendricks This is a short historical paper dealing with O'odham responses to colonization. The paper begins with a short overview of Spanish Colonization and moves through the Mexican Period and into the period of United States colonial control of the O'odham territory. This paper uses United States Indian policy as a lens to view O'odham history. The primary purpose of this study is to give a historical context to O'odham struggles for Tribal Autonomy in the midst of Colonial occupation and repression. In addition, this paper also challenges the progress narrative of "civilization" and gives many examples of how the historical struggle of the Traditional O'odham to maintain their autonomy has in fact been a struggle against "civilization" it-self. Click here to view this article in Adobe Reader format |
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