[WCUSP] Fw: Border Fence to Divide Native Nations

[Libby or Mort Frank]

Oh, God.  Where have we heard this before!
Fences, again.

Libby

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <moderator at PORTSIDE.ORG>
To: <PORTSIDE at LISTS.PORTSIDE.ORG>
Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2006 9:16 PM
Subject: Border Fence to Divide Native Nations


> Border Fence to Divide Three Native American Nations
>
> By Rodrigo ParÃf­s; translated from Spanish by Elena Shore
>
> October 6, 2006, New American Media
>
> http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=c17899ed7975f1ada871e1da0c8b52f2
>
> (this article originally appeared in Rumbo
> http://www.rumbonet.com/rumbo/portada.asp )
>
> Criticism by Native Americans who Live along the Border
>
> Three Native American nations and 23 tribes live in the
> borderlands between the United States and Mexico. The
> construction of the border separation fence approved by
> Congress will divide in two the ancient history of these
> peoples.
>
> "The land is the place God put us from time immemorial. I
> can't imagine that now it will be difficult to visit my
> family," because of the construction of the fence, said Louis
> Gussac, chief of the Koumeyaay nation located on both sides of
> the California border.
>
> These sentences are repeated time and time again on the
> reservations' international limits.
>
> The tribes' situation has been difficult since 2001 as a
> result of an increase in the Border Patrol, the presence of
> National Guard troops in the last four months and narco-
> traffic activities in some areas along the border.
>
> O'odham, Cocopah and Kickapoo are the three Native American
> nations that will see their culture and land divided by a
> fence that is at least five feet tall and, according to
> Congress, is expected to be completed in May 2008.
>
> "Although the project is meant to stop the undocumented, it
> affects our life," said Gussac.
>
> Texas Has its own History Too
>
> The Kickapoo nation resides in the Eagle Pass area. These
> Native Americans see the fence that will be built there as a
> tragic sign.
>
> Congress approved a span of the fence that will go from five
> miles northwest of Del RÃf­o to five miles southeast of Eagle
> Pass.
>
> "The territory of this reservation will be permanently divided
> by the hand of man," said anthropologist and Kickapoo expert
> Rebeca Brush.
>
> Throughout history, the Kickapoo have had to change their
> traditions. In the 17th century, they lived in the Great Lakes
> region. A century later they were displaced to Kansas and
> Texas.
>
> "It's one thing to change where you live, but it's something
> else to have a fence separate the members of a nation," Brush
> explained.
>
> "It's truly a tragedy. The construction of the fence doesn't
> make any sense," says JosÃf© Aranda, a member of the Kickapoo
> in Eagle Pass.
>
> "This isn't the way to solve a problem that's more complicated
> and needs a more intelligent solution," explained Jaime
> LoiÃf¡cono, the priest of a church in Eagle Pass.
>
> "Fifty percent of the high school students on the reservation
> are Black Rocks. What's going to happen to them?" the priest
> asked.
>
> The mayor of the city, Chad Foster, has expressed strong
> criticism of the fence. "It's a cure that is worse than the
> disease," he said before Congress approved the bill.
>
> The Kickapoo, despite living in the United States for
> centuries, were not recognized as a nation until 1983.
>
> Two decades later, various miles of fence will divide the land
> where they live, and the steel beams will be nailed like a
> threat to the preservation of their unity, family and customs.
>
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