OPINION — As an elected official, I believe government has an obligation to listen to the people whose lives its decisions affect. That principle should apply just as strongly when the federal government deals with the sovereign tribal nations within our own borders.
The federal government’s decision to resume construction of a border wall affecting the Tohono O’odham Nation raises concerns that go far beyond immigration policy. The United States has a legitimate responsibility to secure its borders. But that responsibility should not give the federal government a license to disregard the sovereignty, land and cultural concerns of Native nations.
There is a painful history here that we cannot ignore.
