The border wall and respect for tribal sovereignty

Brenda Kalivianakis

Photo courtesy Town of Fountain Hills

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.

For generations, the federal government has made promises to Native American tribes and then broken them. It has taken tribal lands, forced Native people from their homes, separated families and attempted to erase languages and cultures. Too often, the federal government has treated sovereign nations as obstacles to overcome rather than governments and peoples deserving respect.

We cannot change that history. But we should learn from it.

If tribal sovereignty means anything, it must mean more than words spoken at ceremonies or printed in government documents. It must mean meaningful consultation, respect and a genuine effort to work with tribal governments when federal actions directly affect their land, communities and way of life.

The federal government is powerful. But power does not excuse arrogance.

America can secure its borders while respecting the sovereign nations that have lived on this land since long before the United States existed. Those goals are not incompatible. They simply require something government too often forgets: listening before acting.

Respect for tribal sovereignty should not disappear the moment it becomes inconvenient.

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