The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) was passed in 2007. It outlines the various human rights held by Indigenous peoples and was supported by 143 countries in the UN general assembly. Although initially voting against its adoption, the United States eventually lent its support to the document in 2010 under the Obama administration. Below are articles selected from UNDRIP relevant to this case.
Article 11: (1) Indigenous peoples have the right to practise and revitalize their cultural traditions and customs. This includes the right to maintain, protect and develop the past, present and future manifestations of their cultures, such as archaeological and historical sites, artefacts, designs, ceremonies, technologies and visual and performing arts and literature. (2) States shall provide redress through effective mechanisms, which may include restitution, developed in conjunction with indigenous peoples, with respect to their cultural, intellectual, religious and spiritual property taken without their free, prior and informed consent or in violation of their laws, traditions and customs. The right to archaeological and historical sites and property are not honored by the waiving of laws made to protect these sites and property. Article 11 is not being honored by the current border wall construction.
Article 12: (1) Indigenous peoples have the right to manifest, practise, develop
and teach their spiritual and religious traditions, customs and ceremonies; the right to maintain, protect, and have access in privacy to their religious and cultural sites; the right to the use and control of their ceremonial objects; and the right to the repatriation of their
human remains. (2) States shall seek to enable the access and/or repatriation of ceremonial objects and human remains in their possession through fair, transparent and effective mechanisms developed in conjunction with indigenous peoples concerned. Since the Real ID waiver gave the executive office the power to waive NAGPRA, Article 12 can easily be pushed aside to construct the border wall.
Article 19: States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous
peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free, prior and informed consent before adopting and implementing legislative or administrative measures that may affect them. The Border Patrol maintains that they are working with the Tohono O’odham, but the Tohono O’odham Nation disagrees and construction continues against their requests. Article 19 is not being honored in good faith. The existence of the Real ID waiver ensures that Article 19 can be ignored legally.
Article 26: (1) Indigenous peoples have the right to the lands, territories and resources which they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used or acquired. (2) Indigenous peoples have the right to own, use, develop and control the lands, territories and resources that they possess by reason of traditional ownership or other traditional occupation or use, as well as those which they have otherwise acquired. (3) States shall give legal recognition and protection to these lands, territories and resources. Such recognition shall be conducted with due respect to the customs, traditions and land tenure systems of the indigenous peoples concerned. The biggest issue with the border wall is that it honors the borders of Mexico and the United States but not the borders and land of the Tohono O’odham Nation. Their right to their lands is threatened by the enforcement of the U.S. – Mexico border.
