The move is the latest in the Nation’s battle to stop the border wall from encroaching on its lands.
The land in question sits on the international border between the United States and Mexico. The Tohono O’odham Nation has partnered with the federal government on border security, supporting the installation of vehicle barriers, patrol roads, surveillance towers, and two Border Patrol operating bases on reservation land. The Nation has also spent millions of dollars annually on its own border security activities.
In April, the Department of Homeland Security officially announced plans for the wall. In June, the Nation sued the DHS, requesting a halt to the construction, contending that the wall would illegally diminish the size of the Nation’s reservation, constitute trespassing on tribal land, and violate the tribe’s right to exclusive use of its reservation and resources; and that it would destroy sacred sites and interfere with important religious ceremonies and cultural practices. A judge denied the request in August.
In the latest lawsuit, the Nation alleges SLS Federal Services LLC and its subcontractors entered reservation lands and used private roads without tribal approval as required by its federal contract.
The suit contends that on Aug. 10-12, tribal law enforcement stopped 11 contractor vehicles and asked them to leave the reservation. Construction preparation, which involves blasting sacred mountains, clearing land, and building access roads, would cause irreversible damage to religious, cultural, and environmental resources, including sacred saguaro cacti that are protected under tribal law.
The Nation is asking the courts to issue preliminary and permanent orders stopping SLS and its subcontractors from entering or working on the reservation for wall construction.
The Tohono O’odham Nation filed suit on October 28 against a federal contractor hired to build a 30-foot border wall along 62 miles of the tribe’s southern reservation border.
The move is the latest in the Nation’s battle to stop the border wall from encroaching on its lands.
The land in question sits on the international border between the United States and Mexico. The Tohono O’odham Nation has partnered with the federal government on border security, supporting the installation of vehicle barriers, patrol roads, surveillance towers, and two Border Patrol operating bases on reservation land. The Nation has also spent millions of dollars annually on its own border security activities.
In April, the Department of Homeland Security officially announced plans for the wall. In June, the Nation sued the DHS, requesting a halt to the construction, contending that the wall would illegally diminish the size of the Nation’s reservation, constitute trespassing on tribal land, and violate the tribe’s right to exclusive use of its reservation and resources; and that it would destroy sacred sites and interfere with important religious ceremonies and cultural practices. A judge denied the request in August.
In the latest lawsuit, the Nation alleges SLS Federal Services LLC and its subcontractors entered reservation lands and used private roads without tribal approval as required by its federal contract.
The suit contends that on Aug. 10-12, tribal law enforcement stopped 11 contractor vehicles and asked them to leave the reservation. Construction preparation, which involves blasting sacred mountains, clearing land, and building access roads, would cause irreversible damage to religious, cultural, and environmental resources, including sacred saguaro cacti that are protected under tribal law.
The Nation is asking the courts to issue preliminary and permanent orders stopping SLS and its subcontractors from entering or working on the reservation for wall construction.
