TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — In April, a sacred tribal site was damaged during border wall construction. Now, attention is turning to Quitobaquito Springs and whether it could be next.
Christina Andrews is a member of the Hia-Ced O’odham Nation and His-Ced Hemajkam Chairperson. She explains the recent damage to the intaglio is about more than just losing a piece of history. She said it’s about losing a connection to the land that helped guide generations of O’odham people.
“It was a fish for O'odham, all of us O'odham,” Andrews says about the intaglio.
Andrews explains the intaglio helped guide people during salt pilgrimages to the sea, journeys passed down for generations. She says, "the salt was sustenance for our body, it protected us.”
“That sacred pond and the fish all were areas where we would walk cause we're runners, and we'd run to the salt to get our salt. And the fish would point the direction to the sea. That's how we knew where we were going. That's how we knew we were right," Andrews explains, "[for] thousands of years, and it showed us how to get to the sea to the salt. And now it’s no more."
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement the remaining portion of the site has been secured and will be protected.
According to the National Park Service, the pond and surrounding system also support rare and protected species found almost nowhere else in the United States, including the Quitobaquito pupfish, Quitobaquito spring snail, and the Sonoyta mud turtle. The agency says it is the only place in the country where these species naturally occur.
Andrews said she worries Quitobaquito Springs could be at risk if construction moves closer with a secondary border wall.
“Because it is sacred, not only to the tribes, it's sacred to us as a United States people. That's sacred to us. Because there's nothing in the world like it. Just like your home. Nothing in the world is nothing like your home. That's something deep in your heart,” Andrews says.
CBP issued the following statement to KGUN 9:
"U.S. Customs and Border Protection is constructing a Smart Wall along the border in Arizona to enhance security and support U.S. Border Patrol operations. In some areas, this includes a secondary wall. CBP is working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service to avoid Quitobaquito Springs and minimize impacts to sensitive resources. No groundwater will be used within five miles of Quitobaquito Springs for border wall construction, and water levels are monitored to identify any significant changes. CBP will implement mitigation strategies as needed."
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Second border wall construction underway in Southern Arizona
“What stories this United States has lost,” Andrews says, “not just for us, but them.”
She said she hopes people view these places as more than just land along the border.
“To destroy something that’s irreparable, that belongs to all of us, that's our home, all of us. The United States is all of our home to protect it," Andrews says.
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Athena Kehoe is a reporter for KGUN 9, she joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2024 after graduating from Arizona State University. Share your story ideas with Athena by emailing athena.kehoe@kgun9.com or by connecting on X/Twitter.
