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History of border relations

Prior to colonization, the O'odham migrated along a north-south axis in a "two village" system, rotating between summer and winter settlements. These migrations formed the foundation of their subsistence economies and enabled religious pilgrimages. This pattern continued throughout Apache, Spanish, and American expansion, but shifted with the re-drawing of boundaries that followed the Mexican American War. Unlike aboriginal groups along the U.S.-Canada border, the Tohono O'odham were not offered dual citizenship when the US drew a border across their lands in 1853 by the Gadsden Purchase. The population was split between Mexico and the United States, however, the U.S. government guaranteed that the O'odham freedom of movement would be protected. For decades members of the nation continued to move freely across the current international boundary. Throughout this time, tribal members traveled and migrated to work, participate in religious ceremonies, keep medical appointments in Sells, Arizona and visit relatives. The end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th saw a decline in the subsistence economies of the O'odham, but they continued to move through the region with their families, working as hired hands on farms, mines, and ranches where work appeared.

The pre-contact legacy and economic lifestyles of the O'odham gave them a "transnational identity," but the new borders brought other consequences. Land theft and forced assimilation decreased the numbers of southern O'odham and alienated them from their northern counterparts. By 1910 it was estimated that only 1,000 O'odham remained in Mexico. The disparities in wealth between the two sides also led to cultural shifts. The traditional practice of lending between O'odham decreased as many Arizona O'odham felt that those on the Mexican side would not be able to pay loans back. These notions of isolation were further intensified during WWII as the U.S. Mexico border was militarized to protect against potential invasions via the Sea of Cortez, and tribal lands in Sonora were privatized to increase government production. This increase in militarization occurred again in the 1980s and 1990s, and further inhibited the ability of tribal members to travel back and forth and slowed migration.

The O'odham saw a subsequent rise in illegal crossing and smuggling through tribal lands as the surrounding security increased. In 2003 the Nation hosted a Congressional hearing on the illegal activity occurring on tribal lands. In the hearing tribal leaders and law enforcement officers testified of "incidents of cross-border violence, and even incursions by Mexican military personnel in support of drug smugglers." Along with the cross-border violence, tribal members continued to experience other social and legal consequences from the border. Tribal members born in Mexico or who have insufficient documentation to prove U.S. birth or residency, found themselves trapped in a remote corner of Mexico, with no access to the tribal centers only tens of miles away. In 2001, a bill was proposed that would give citizenship to all Tohono O'odham, but the bill was forgotten in the aftermath of 9/11. Since then, bills have repeatedly been introduced in Congress to solve the "one people-two country" problem by granting U.S. citizenship to all enrolled members of the Tohono O'odham, but so far their sponsors have not gained passage. Opponents of granting U.S. citizenship to all enrolled members of the Nation include concerns that many births on the reservation have been informally recorded, and the records are susceptible to easy alteration or falsification.

Photo of current border fence - Tohono O'odham Nation

Today, the tribal government incurs extra costs due to the proximity of the U.S.-Mexico border. There are also associated social problems. In an area of acute poverty offers from smugglers for O'odham to assist in illegal activity are common. Many of the thousands of Mexican nationals, and other nationals illegally crossing the U.S. Border to work in U.S. agriculture or to smuggle illicit drugs into the U.S., seek emergency assistance from the Tohono O'odham police when they become dehydrated or get stranded. On the ground, border patrol emergency rescue and tribal EMTs coordinate and communicate. The tribe and the state of Arizona pay a large proportion of the bills for border-related law enforcement and emergency services. The former governor of Arizona, Janet Napolitano, and Tohono O'odham government leaders have requested repeatedly that the federal government repay the state and the tribe for the costs of border-related emergencies. Tribe Chairman Ned Norris Jr. has complained about the lack of reimbursement for border enforcement.

Citing the impact it would have on wildlife and on the tribe's members, Tohono O'odham tribal leaders have expressed opposition in a series of official statements to President Donald J. Trump's stated plan to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. While the 1986 Tohono O'odham constitution gives the tribe sovereignty over their territory, this is nonetheless subject to the plenary power of Congress. Approximately 2,000 members live in Mexico, and a wall would physically separate them from members in the United States. Most of the 25,000 Tohono O'odham today live in southern Arizona, but several thousand of the O'odham, many related by kinship, also live in northern Sonora, Mexico. Today, many tribal members still make an annual pilgrimage to San Xavier del Bac and Magdalena, Sonora, during St. Francis festivities to commemorate St. Francis Xavier and St. Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan Order.