Tribal Leaders Warned Border Wall Construction Would Disturb Native American Remains. They Were Right.

Photo: Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Ajo, AZ – February 16, 2015. Attribution: “Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument” by Matthew Dillon via Flickr. CC BY-SA 2.0. Article by Ryan Devereaux. ProPublica – November 2, 2026.

Lorraine Eiler stood in the blazing August sun, surrounded by reporters, to offer a warning. The Trump administration was racing to erect a second border wall across Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, southwest of Tucson. If the bulldozers came, she said, they were bound to disturb the final resting places of her family and Hia-Ced O’odham tribal ancestors. “People used to live here,” the 89-year-old said. Fifteen days later, her fears were realized. ProPublica has confirmed that Native American remains were unearthed in Organ Pipe amid soil overturned by border wall contractors. […]

Click here to view the original article at www.propublica.org

Related articles:

“These Aren’t Victimless Crimes.” Vandals Deface Ancient Petroglyphs Near Moab. – Outside

Rock Art Vandalism: Collecting or Damaging Artifacts on Public Land is Illegal – Bureau of Land Management

Trump’s border wall construction cut into an ancient ground carving older than Stonehenge – NBC News

Supreme Court clears the way for border wall construction in Texas’s Big Bend to resume – AP News

Curated by Theresa Wysocki Director of Art & Design

See Full Bio