Forced Migration

[CowGal]

https://repository.forcedmigration.o.../?pid=fmo:4568

[CowGal]

Forced Migration Online: A world of information on human displacement

https://repository.forcedmigration.o.../?pid=fmo:4568

[CowGal]

Four Native American nations have tribal lands which span the US-Mexico border: the

Tohono O’odham, the

Yaqui,

the Cocopah and the Kickapoo.11 The Tohono O’odham nation has a population of some 22,000. The
tribe is recognized by the US federal government. Their reservation lands comprise nearly 3 million acres in
southern Arizona and their traditional tribal lands extend south into the Sonoran desert in Mexico. Annual festivities
include July and October festivals in Sonora which are attended by tribal members from the USA. The Yaqui

nation has reservation lands of about 1,000 acres in New Pascua, Southwest Tucson, and southern Arizona. The
tribe obtained US federal recognition as a First Nations tribe in 1978.The

Cocopah have reservation lands of
6,000 acres and a population of 4,000, half of whom reside in the Colorado River delta region of Mexico. The US
part of the tribe is recognized by the US federal government. The Kickapoo nation is much smaller, with a 125-
acre reservation in Maverick County, Texas. They number about 600 people. They consider the land south of the
international border as their traditional hunting and ceremonial grounds.
The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo (1848), which ended the war between Mexico and the United States,
recognized Native American tribes’ rights as sovereign nations to cross the new border without hindrance.
However, human rights monitors in the Arizona region have documented instances in which Native American
Indians who wish to cross the border to visit family and attend native ceremonies have been harassed and had

problems complying with the documentation required by the INS.

Forced Migration Online: A world of information on human displacement

[CowGal]

In August 1997, Native tribal representatives, community leaders and human rights activists from the US
Southwest and northern Mexico came together to create the Indigenous Alliance Without Borders

(Alianza
Indígena Sin Fronteras), to work against discrimination and harassment of Native people at the US-Mexico
border. Participants discussed issues of mobility and other problems they had encountered. Indigenous people
maintain that they do not wish to cross any border - the international border crosses them.
The INS should ensure that the rights of Native American Indians, whose tribal lands span the US-Mexico
border, to cross the border without fear of harassment, intimidation or abuse, are respected. Amnesty International
urges the US government to liaise with tribal leaders in order to resolve the problem of personal identification for
border control purposes, such as the proposed creation of a tribal accreditation card which would be recognized

at the border as an acceptable form of identification for tribal members.

Four Native American nations have tribal lands which span the US-Mexico border: the

Tohono O’odham, the

Yaqui,

the Cocopah and the Kickapoo.11 The Tohono O’odham nation has a population of some 22,000. The

tribe is recognized by the US federal government. Their reservation lands comprise nearly 3 million acres in
southern Arizona and their traditional tribal lands extend south into the Sonoran desert in Mexico. Annual festivities
include July and October festivals in Sonora which are attended by tribal members from the USA. The

Yaqui

nation has reservation lands of about 1,000 acres in New Pascua, Southwest Tucson, and southern Arizona. The
tribe obtained US federal recognition as a First Nations tribe in 1978.The

Cocopah have reservation lands of

6,000 acres and a population of 4,000, half of whom reside in the Colorado River delta region of Mexico. The US
part of the tribe is recognized by the US federal government. The

Kickapoo nation is much smaller, with a 125-

acre reservation in Maverick County, Texas. They number about 600 people. They consider the land south of the
international border as their traditional hunting and ceremonial grounds.
The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo (1848), which ended the war between Mexico and the United States,
recognized Native American tribes’ rights as sovereign nations to cross the new border without hindrance.
However, human rights monitors in the Arizona region have documented instances in which Native American
Indians who wish to cross the border to visit family and attend native ceremonies have been harassed and had

problems complying with the documentation required by the INS.