The Tohono O’odham Nation, a Native American tribe in southern Arizona opposed to the building of a border wall that could imperil wildlife and artifacts in the area’s fragile landscape, is accusing the Department of Defense of failing to consult with it under federal requirements.
In a Feb. 7 letter to Defense Secretary Mark Esper, tribal Chairman Ned Norris Jr. said the department should have engaged in “meaningful consultation” with Tohono O’odham leaders because funding for the barrier is coming out of the agency’s budget.
The United States-Mexico border wall in Organ Pipe National Park south of Ajo, Arizona, on Feb. 13, 2020.Sandy Huffaker / AFP – Getty Images
“The Nation respectfully requests that DOD immediately engage in government-to-government consultation … and that no appropriated funds be expended on border barrier construction activity until such consultation has occurred,” Norris wrote in the letter, which was shared with NBC News.
Last year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said the DOD had awarded multimillion-dollar contracts for the construction of a steel wall in Arizona, up to 30 feet tall in some sections. The Pentagon told Congress this month that it plans to divert $3.8 billion in military funding to pay for the building of more wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Democrats, including Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and some Republicans have opposed diverting the military’s financial resources for the wall.