A Line in the Sand

1. A Line in the Sand The Story of the Tohono O’odham By Jake McDonald Native Geographies 322 UW-Eau Claire

2. Tohono O’odham • Means “Desert People” • Also known as the Papago • Live in the Sonoran Desert in what is now Arizona and Sonora (Mexico) • Lived in two types of villages • Around the rivers during the growing season • In the mountains during the winter www.itcaonline.com/tribes_tohono.html

3. Desert Living • All knowledge on how to use the meager desert resources to their advantage passed down through the generations • During the growing season, grew corn and gathered native plants • During the winter hunted for deer in the mountains and gathered what they could www.heard.org/rain/cultura2/raincul6.html

4. Mexico in 1836 • In 1836, Mexico controlled present-day Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas, and parts of Colorado, Nevada, and Utah www.azstarnet.com/tohono/nationmaps.html

5. Texas – Or the reason the U.S. procured 55% of Mexican Territory • In 1836, Texas declares independence from Mexico • In 1845, U.S. annexes Texas and immediately send troops there to protect the border • One year later in May of 1846, U.S. declares war on Mexico http://home.sandiego.edu/~villegas/

6. U.S.-Mexican War • For the next two years fighting ensued between the U.S. and Mexico • General Taylor, of the U.S., led his troops to Monterey • While General Stephen Kearny went to New Mexico, Chihuahua, and California

7. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo • In 1847, General Winfield Scott captured the capitol of Mexico, Mexico City • This was the final decisive battle in the Mexican- American War www.nps.gov/paal/treatymap.htm • A few months later in 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed giving the U.S. present-day Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas, and parts of Colorado, Nevada, and Utah

8. Southern Transcontinental Railroad • A man by the name of James Gadsden had a dream of a Southern Transcontinental Railroad that would make the west coast dependent on the South instead of the North • The land that he wanted was made available by the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo • The railroad would go through southern Arizona but they still needed more land http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/map_item.pl

9. A Nation Divided • In 1854, Mexico sold the U.S. a tract of land of what is now southern Arizona. • The Gadsden Purchase, as it would be called, divided the Tohono O’odham nation in two, half on the U.S. side and half on the Mexican side www.azstarnet.com/tohono/nationmaps.html

10. Federal Recognition In 1937 the U.S. Government formally recognizes the Tohono O’odham (Papago) in Arizona as a federal reservation Tohono O’odham living on both sides of the border are included in the membership of the tribe. Using tribal membership cards, Tohono O’odham peoples easily cross the U.S.-Mexican border to visit their relatives and continue their traditional lifeways.

11. Problems Begin • In 1986, drug laws became much stricter and the border between the U.S. and Mexico became more heavily guarded. • Tohono O’odham people started to get harassed when they tried to cross from Mexico to the U.S. to visit their families or to receive medical aid.

12. Operation Gatekeeper • Political pressure forced the creation of Operation Gatekeeper, in 1994, to help control the number of undocumented immigrants entering the U.S. • Both American and Mexican Tohono O’odham are also harassed and often not allowed entry because of the initiative

13. Legal Gates www.azstarnet.com/tohono/

14. No Proof • The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 stated that anyone with a birth certificate stating that they were born in the U.S. are U.S. citizens • Many Tohono O’odham cannot prove that they were born in the U.S. (or were not born in the U.S.) and so have a very difficult time getting into Arizona, despite the original promises of the federal government

15. Tribal Membership = Border Pass • In 2003, an initiative was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives to make all Tohono O’odham (no matter where they were born) U.S. citizens. • This initiative would save the Tohono O’odham over $100,000 a year that they spend getting their Mexican members passports to cross into the U.S.

16. Tohono O’odham Citizenship Act of 2003 To render all enrolled members of the Tohono O'odham Nation citizens of the United States as of the date of their enrollment and to recognize the valid membership credential of the Tohono O'odham Nation as the legal equivalent of a certificate of citizenship or a State-issued birth certificate for all Federal purposes. • Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

17. Tohono O’odham Citizenship Act, cont. • SEC. 2. NATURALIZATION FOR TOHONO O'ODHAM. • (a) IN GENERAL- Chapter 2 of title III of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1421 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 322 the following: • `enrolled members of tohono o'odham nation • `SEC. 323. (a) GRANTING OF CITIZENSHIP- A person who is listed on the official membership roll of the Tohono O'odham Nation, a federally recognized American Indian nation located in Arizona, is a citizen of the United States as of the date on which such listing occurs. • `(b) NO DERIVATIVE BENEFITS TO RELATIVES- Nothing in this section shall be construed as providing for any benefit under this Act for any spouse, son, daughter, or other relative of a person granted citizenship under this section.'. • (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT- The table of contents of the Immigration and Nationality Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 322 the following new item: • `Sec. 323. Enrolled members of Tohono O'odham Nation.'.

18. Tohono O’odham Citizenship Act, Cont. • SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF TRIBAL MEMBERSHIP CREDENTIAL. • Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the valid membership credential issued to a person who is listed on the official membership roll of the Tohono O'odham Nation pursuant to the laws of the Tohono O'odham Nation shall be considered, for all purposes subject to Federal law, equivalent to-- • (1) a certificate of citizenship issued under section 341(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1452(a)) to persons who satisfy the requirements of such section; and • (2) a State-issued birth certificate.

19. The Fight for Citizenship • About 8,400 Tohono O’odham who were born in Mexico or cannot prove they were born in the U.S. are affected by this problem • The man in the picture is just one of many Tohono O’odham to have served in the United States Military and yet cannot prove he is a citizen of the U.S. www.public.asu.edu/~kmadsen/toci/toci.html

21. More Problems • Every year almost 5 million pounds of trash are left on the reservation lands by illegal immigrants (www.kold.com/global/story.asp?s=1029934&ClientType=Printablewww.kold.com/global/story.asp?s=1029934&ClientType=Printable) • Tohono O’odham people are trying to get the U.S. government at all levels to help clean up the mess, but so far have had no luck

22. Drug Smugglers • Every year thousands of pounds of drugs are smuggled into the U.S. through the Tohono O’odham Reservation and the tribe can do nothing to stop it • The border fences are crushed or pushed over and many farmers lose their cattle through the smuggler holes. (www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-08-06-indian-drugs-usat_x.htm) Marijuana www.cananews.com/undcp/images/marijuana.jpg methamphetamine www.castitas.com/images/3_meth_different.jpg

23. Latest Developments • Recently the EPA gave the Tohono O’odham a $50,000 grant to help with the illegal dumping on their lands • Illegal immigrants are still going through Tohono O’odham lands, though 9/11 slowed the river of migrants down (because of increased U.S. security) there are still a reported 700 to 1000 daily

24. Is the opposite of Progress, Congress? • The Tohono O’odham Citizenship Act, though it would help over 8,000 tribal members, has stalled in the U.S. House of Representatives. • The fate of the Tohono O’odham is in the hands of politicians who have a record of not caring about Indigenous peoples • Please contact your congressman to try and help make all Tohono O’odham become U.S. citizens

25. For More Information • The Handbook of American Indians: Volume Ten • The Tohono O’odham Nation http://personal.riverusers.com/~storypower/pages/TOK.html • Tohono O’odham Citizenship Act,108:H.R. 731http://thomas.loc.gov • Nation Divided, www.azstarnet.com/tohono/index.html • Drugs invade via Indian Lands, www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-08-06-indian-drugs-usat_x.htm • The Tohono O’odham,www.hrusa.org/indig/reports/Tohono.htm

26. For Even More Information • The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, www.loc.gov/exhibits/ghtreaty/ • Mexican War, www.dean.usma.edu/history/web03/atlases/mexican%20war/mexican%20war%20index.htm • Territory Transferred in the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, www.nps.gov/paal/treatymap.htm • The Santa Fe Route and connections, 1888, http://memory.loc.gov/ • The Gadsden Purchase: Odd Land Deal, www.progress.org/gads.htm • Operation Gatekeeper: New Resources, Enhanced results, http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffairs/factsheets/opgatefs.htm • Briefing on Tragedy Along the Arizona-Mexico Border: Undocumented Immigrants Face the Desert, www.nbpc.net/news/archive/december2001/batter.html