{"id":7267,"date":"2026-05-17T22:02:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T22:02:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=7267"},"modified":"2026-05-17T22:02:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T22:02:26","slug":"us-mexico-border-wall-construction-is-desecrating-sacred-sites-indigenous-leaders-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=7267","title":{"rendered":"US-Mexico border wall construction is desecrating sacred sites, Indigenous leaders say"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><p><strong>By JULIE WATSON and MORGAN LEE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>TECATE, Mexico (AP) \u2014 White sage burning, Norma Meza Calles gathers guests at a Mexican wellness resort into a semicircle facing Kuuchamaa Mountain and asks everyone to close their eyes and feel its presence.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=7260\">Trump administration promotes program to check voter eligibility. Critics fear a midterm purge<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is sacred to us like a church for you all. The mountain is our healer, our psychologist,\u201d said Meza Calles, a Kumeyaay Nation tribal leader who explains that in its creation story a shaman transformed into the mountain. \u201cHere is where we gather strength to live in this difficult world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then she calls for a moment of reflection. But the silence is pierced by the crushing of rock. U.S. federal contractors have been blasting and bulldozing Kuuchamaa, which straddles both countries, to make way for new sections of wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.<\/p>\n<p>Indigenous leaders say that in the Trump administration\u2019s rush to build border walls, contractors are desecrating Native American sacred places and cultural sites at an unprecedented pace, more than 170 years after the international boundary split the territories of dozens of tribes.<\/p>\n<div><ul><div><div><li><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Norma Meza Calles, a Kumeyaay Nation leader, touches a branch...\" class=\"wp-image-7262\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/6c39507016f667ce8d69ab7814db6a65-1024x683.webp\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/6c39507016f667ce8d69ab7814db6a65-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/6c39507016f667ce8d69ab7814db6a65-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/6c39507016f667ce8d69ab7814db6a65-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/6c39507016f667ce8d69ab7814db6a65-1536x1024.webp 1536w, https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/6c39507016f667ce8d69ab7814db6a65.webp 1860w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<div>Norma Meza Calles, a Kumeyaay Nation leader, touches a branch as she leads a guided tour of traditional Kumeyaay uses for local plants at a wellness center, Friday, May 1, 2026, in Tecate, Mexico. (AP Photo\/Gregory Bull)\n<\/div><\/div><\/li><li><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Norma Meza Calles, a Kumeyaay Nation leader, gestures as she...\" class=\"wp-image-7263\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/efaf27778a34ed518f4383c3f375b4ae-1024x683.webp\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/efaf27778a34ed518f4383c3f375b4ae-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/efaf27778a34ed518f4383c3f375b4ae-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/efaf27778a34ed518f4383c3f375b4ae-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/efaf27778a34ed518f4383c3f375b4ae-1536x1024.webp 1536w, https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/efaf27778a34ed518f4383c3f375b4ae.webp 1860w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<div>Norma Meza Calles, a Kumeyaay Nation leader, gestures as she speaks of the sacred importance of Kuuchamaa Mountain, behind, at a wellness center, Friday, May 1, 2026, in Tecate, Mexico. (AP Photo\/Gregory Bull)\n<\/div><\/div><\/li><li><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Construction crews work on a new border wall segment near...\" class=\"wp-image-7264\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/d31a316e6e436833d10a384358a86e00-1024x683.webp\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/d31a316e6e436833d10a384358a86e00-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/d31a316e6e436833d10a384358a86e00-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/d31a316e6e436833d10a384358a86e00-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/d31a316e6e436833d10a384358a86e00-1536x1024.webp 1536w, https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/d31a316e6e436833d10a384358a86e00.webp 1860w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<div>Construction crews work on a new border wall segment near the end of a previously built section on Kuuchamaa Mountain, Friday, April 24, 2026, seen from Tecate, Mexico. (AP Photo\/Gregory Bull)\n<\/div><\/div><\/li><li><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Norma Meza Calles, a Kumeyaay Nation leader, lights a bundle...\" class=\"wp-image-7265\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/e9210c2182e296d9191d955cd2c3345b-1024x683.webp\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/e9210c2182e296d9191d955cd2c3345b-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/e9210c2182e296d9191d955cd2c3345b-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/e9210c2182e296d9191d955cd2c3345b-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/e9210c2182e296d9191d955cd2c3345b-1536x1024.webp 1536w, https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/e9210c2182e296d9191d955cd2c3345b.webp 1860w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<div>Norma Meza Calles, a Kumeyaay Nation leader, lights a bundle of white sage as she talks of the sacred importance of nearby Kuuchamaa Mountain at a wellness center Friday, May 1, 2026, in Tecate, Mexico. (AP Photo\/Gregory Bull)\n<\/div><\/div><\/li><li><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Construction crews work on a new border wall segment on...\" class=\"wp-image-7266\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/59124dc1e6fc01a1fb07d31071320dc9-1024x683.webp\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/59124dc1e6fc01a1fb07d31071320dc9-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/59124dc1e6fc01a1fb07d31071320dc9-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/59124dc1e6fc01a1fb07d31071320dc9-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/59124dc1e6fc01a1fb07d31071320dc9-1536x1024.webp 1536w, https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/59124dc1e6fc01a1fb07d31071320dc9.webp 1860w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<div>Construction crews work on a new border wall segment on Kuuchamaa Mountain, Friday, April 24, 2026, seen from Tecate, Mexico. (AP Photo\/Gregory Bull)\n<\/div><\/div><\/li><\/div><\/div><\/ul><div><div>Norma Meza Calles, a Kumeyaay Nation leader, touches a branch as she leads a guided tour of traditional Kumeyaay uses for local plants at a wellness center, Friday, May 1, 2026, in Tecate, Mexico. (AP Photo\/Gregory Bull)\n<\/div><span>Expand<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n<h4>Federal crews set off blasts on sacred mountain<\/h4>\n<p>Barrier construction has ramped up along the 1,954-mile (3,145-kilometer) border even as illegal crossings have plummeted to historic lows. Much of it began this year after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security waived cultural and environmental laws. <\/p>\n<p>In California, explosions on Kuuchamaa send rocks hurtling down its Mexico side.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe feel that in our DNA,\u201d said Emily Burgueno, a California member of the Kumeyaay Nation, adding that \u201cbody\u201d and \u201cland\u201d are the same word in the Kumeyaay language. Some tribal leaders met with DHS officials to urge them to protect Kuuchamaa and are looking into legal action.<\/p> <div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cNo one ever consented or supported the use of dynamite on the mountain,\u201d Burgueno said.<\/p>\n<p>The nation consists of more than a dozen tribes in California and Mexico\u2019s Baja California.<\/p>\n<p>In Arizona, DHS contractors last month carved through a massive 1,000-year-old fish-shaped geoglyph called \u201cLas Playas Intaglio.\u201d The rare drawing, etched into the desert floor much like Peru\u2019s Nazca Lines, was created on a lava field in what is now the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge.<\/p>\n<p>The Tohono O\u2019odham Nation said it had pointed out the site on its ancestral land for contractors to avoid.<\/p> <div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThis was a devastating and entirely avoidable loss,\u201d Tohono O\u2019odham Chairman Verlon Jose said in an April 30 statement. \u201cThere is nothing more important than our history, which is what makes us who we are as O\u2019odham. The site was also an irreplaceable piece of the United States\u2019 history, one none of us can ever get back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement that a contractor \u201cinadvertently disturbed\u201d the site west of Ajo, Arizona, on April 23, but it vowed to protect the remaining portion. CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott is talking to tribal leaders to determine next steps.<\/p>\n<p>Members of the Inter-Tribal Association of Arizona, which represents 21 tribes, traveled to Washington last month to lobby against a 20-foot (6-meter) secondary wall being built along that section of the border, as well as a primary 30-foot (9-meter) bollard wall planned on Tohono O\u2019odham tribal lands. They met with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, a Cherokee Nation member, who listened but made clear his intent is to build more border walls as fast as possible, the Tohono O\u2019odham Nation said in a statement.<\/p>\n<h4>Hundreds of miles are under contract<\/h4>\n<p>The Trump administration says the barriers are necessary to keep people and drugs from entering the U.S. illegally. It wants walls to cover at least 1,400 miles (2,250 kilometers) of the border.<\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s \u201c big, beautiful bill \u201d devoted over $46 billion to the effort.<\/p>\n<p>CBP has awarded contracts or begun construction on over 600 miles (966 kilometers) of new border wall, with companion surveillance technology. A double wall is planned or under construction along another 370 miles (596 kilometers).<\/p>\n<p>In Arizona, where the Patagonia Mountains descend to the border, heavy machinery crawls along freshly graded roads to extend a double wall that could block a wildlife corridor for endangered ocelots and jaguars. Jaguars have long coexisted with the Tohono O\u2019odham, who consider the species \u201cspiritual guardians,\u201d Austin Nunez, a tribal leader, said in a 2025 lawsuit that unsuccessfully challenged the DHS waivers.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=7254\">Drone strikes UAE nuclear plant as US and Iran signal they are prepared to resume war<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In Sunland Park, on New Mexico\u2019s border with Mexico, crews this year set off blasts on Mount Cristo Rey, a pilgrimage site topped with a limestone crucifix.<\/p>\n<p>CBP is seeking to seize a strip of the mountain owned by the Roman Catholic Church for wall construction. The Diocese of Las Cruces asked a judge this month to deny the land transfer as an affront to religious liberties and the \u201cfaithful who seek to commune with God on Mount Cristo Rey.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In western Texas, the federal government in February notified ranchers on the Rio Grande east of Big Bend National Park of its interest in their land that contains canyonland pictographs and petroglyphs, said Raymond Skiles, a retired Big Bend National Park ranger.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are pictographs, paintings of shaman figures and various things that we don\u2019t know how to interpret,\u201d said Skiles, describing the drawings on his family\u2019s ranchlands.<\/p>\n<p>After community backlash, CBP\u2019s online planning map showed the 30-foot-wall plans were scrapped for surveillance technology, patrols and some vehicle barriers. A segment in the national park and neighboring Big Bend Ranch State Park would rely on technology alone.<\/p>\n<p>CBP says it recognizes the importance of natural and cultural resources and is working to minimize the construction\u2019s impact, including leaving drainage gates open in wildlife corridors for animal passage. Illegal border crossings have littered, polluted and trampled sensitive habitat, the agency says.<\/p>\n<p>CBP also says 535 miles (860 kilometers) of remote, rugged border terrain will solely rely on detection technology.<\/p>\n<p>Many tribes would prefer that to walls.<\/p>\n<h4>Desecrating Native American sites is a felony<\/h4>\n<p>Tribes along the border \u201care all experiencing the same tragic desecration of our cultural and sacred sites,\u201d said Burgueno, chair of the Kumeyaay Diegue\u00f1o Land Conservancy, a nonprofit organization in California that works to protect Kumeyaay lands. \u201cThis is a great example of the federal government not following federal laws.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Desecrating a sacred Native American site on U.S. federal or tribal land is a felony, punishable by imprisonment and fines. In 1992, the National Park Service listed Kuuchamaa Mountain, also called Tecate Peak, in the National Register of Historic Places, giving it limited protection. It noted that \u201cdiscarding or disturbing the mountain\u2019s natural state would be sacrilegious.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rising 3,885 feet (1,184 meters) above sea level, Kuuchamaa has also captivated non-Native people.<\/p>\n<p>Sarah Livia Brightwood Szekely said her father, Edmond Szekely, felt the mountain\u2019s healing energy when he arrived in Tecate, Mexico, as a Hungarian Jewish refugee during World War II, and started the renowned wellness resort, Rancho La Puerta, which she now runs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are all of these people that have a deep relationship with the mountain,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Meza Calles leads walks at Rancho La Puerta to teach guests about Kuuchamaa.<\/p>\n<p>Traditionally, young men would spend 40 days at its base in a coming-of-age ceremony before becoming warriors or shamans, she said. Today\u2019s rituals are shorter. People suffering from a death, debt, divorce or other difficulty seek Kuuchamaa\u2019s healing, she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s sad they are ruining the mountain,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019ll see how far they go. Destiny is destiny. But the fight is not over.\u201d\n<p><em>Lee reported from Santa Fe, New Mexico.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=7247\">Ukraine conducts large-scale drone strikes on Russia, killing 4 and wounding a dozen others<\/a><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cThis is sacred to us like a church for you all. The mountain is our healer, our psychologist,\u201d said Meza Calles, a Kumeyaay Nation tribal leader who explains that in its creation story a shaman transformed into the mountain. \u201cHere is where we gather strength to live in this difficult world.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7261,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>US-Mexico border wall construction is desecrating sacred sites, Indigenous leaders say - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=7267\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US-Mexico border wall construction is desecrating sacred sites, Indigenous leaders say - Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cThis is sacred to us like a church for you all. The mountain is our healer, our psychologist,\u201d said Meza Calles, a Kumeyaay Nation tribal leader who explains that in its creation story a shaman transformed into the mountain. \u201cHere is where we gather strength to live in this difficult world.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=7267\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-17T22:02:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/6c39507016f667ce8d69ab7814db6a65.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1860\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1240\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=7267#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=7267\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\"},\"headline\":\"US-Mexico border wall construction is desecrating sacred sites, Indigenous leaders say\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-17T22:02:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=7267\"},\"wordCount\":1496,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=7267#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/362014d6bc1222260dc1788eb0bed094.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"National News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=7267#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=7267\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=7267\",\"name\":\"US-Mexico border wall construction is desecrating sacred sites, Indigenous leaders say - 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