Border Wall Construction Destroys 1,000-Year-Old Arizona Geoglyph
- A Department of Homeland Security contractor bulldozed a roughly 60-foot swath through a 1,000-year-old intaglio in Arizona's Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge on Friday, causing irreparable damage to the ancient site.
- The destruction occurred as part of President Donald Trump's $46.5 billion border barrier expansion project, which requires clearing land for a secondary wall near the U.S.-Mexico border.
- Despite discussions between refuge managers, archaeologists Rick and Sandra Martynec, and contractors to protect the site, O'odham runners alerted elder Lorraine Marquez Eiler to encroaching construction the day before destruction occurred.
- Lorraine Marquez Eiler, an elder of the Hia-ced O'odham Indigenous people, described the damage as "an emotional subject," emphasizing the site's deep ancestral significance to her community.
- The incident mirrors previous DHS border construction impacts on sacred sites, including a burial ground in Organ Pipe National Monument, raising concerns about the effectiveness of environmental protections for tribal heritage.
29 Articles
29 Articles
New images show Arizona archaeological site scarred by border wall work
A giant fish carved into volcanic rock by ancient people more than 1,000 years ago has been bulldozed in half during construction of a second border wall in Arizona, according to new images of the damage at Cabeza Prieta National…
New Photos, Videos Show Border Wall Construction Damage to Ancient Archeological Site in Arizona
AJO, Ariz.— The Center for Biological Diversity released new video footage and photographs today documenting recent damage from border wall construction to the Las Playas Intaglio, an ancient fish-shaped geoglyph in Arizona’s Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge.
Las Playas Intaglio Damaged by Border Wall Construction in Arizona - Archaeology Magazine
Archival aerial photograph of Las Playas Intaglio, Arizona AJO, ARIZONA—According to a Washington Post report, an intaglio that looks like a fish has been damaged in southwestern Arizona by construction crews building a second wall on the border with Mexico parallel to the first. Waivers issued by the Department of Homeland Security exempted border wall construction crews from laws requiring the protection of Indigenous archaeological sites and …
Trump's Wall Bulldozed a 1,000-Year-Old Native American Site—DHS Waivers to Bypass Environmental Rules
Donald Trump's accelerated border wall project has done what Indigenous leaders and archaeologists feared it would do. In the Arizona desert, construction crews working under federal contract have bulldozed part of a sacred Native American ground etching believed to be more than 1,000 years old. Customs and Border Protection has confirmed that on 23 April 2026, a contractor 'inadvertently disturbed' the Las Playas Intaglio, a rare desert geoglyp…
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