U.S. federal contractors are blasting and bulldozing Kuuchamaa Mountain, a sacred site for the Kumeyaay Nation, to construct new sections of the U.S.-Mexico border wall, an imperial project backed by over $46 billion in federal funds. This state-sanctioned destruction proceeds despite Indigenous leaders' pleas and the mountain's designation in the National Register of Historic Places 34 years ago, revealing the state's prioritization of capital accumulation over ancestral rights.
State-Sanctioned Desecration
Norma Meza Calles, a Kumeyaay Nation tribal leader, stated, “This is sacred to us like a church for you all. The mountain is our healer, our psychologist,” and added, “Here is where we gather strength to live in this difficult world.” She recounted the Kumeyaay creation story where a shaman transformed into the mountain.
The sound of rock crushing interrupted a moment of reflection called by Meza Calles at a Mexican wellness resort facing Kuuchamaa Mountain 16 days ago, demonstrating the immediate impact of the state's actions.
Indigenous leaders report that in the Trump administration’s push for border walls, contractors are desecrating Native American sacred places and cultural sites at an unprecedented rate, more than 170 years after the international boundary split tribal territories, facilitating the dispossession of Indigenous peoples.
Barrier construction has intensified along the 1,954-mile border even as illegal crossings have plummeted to historic lows, undermining the stated security rationale for the massive public expenditure and revealing the project's true purpose beyond migration control.
Much of the work began this year after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) waived cultural and environmental laws, effectively dismantling legal protections to accelerate the state's construction agenda.
In California, explosions on Kuuchamaa send rocks hurtling down its Mexico side. Emily Burgueno, a California member of the Kumeyaay Nation, stated, “We feel that in our DNA,” and noted that “body” and “land” are the same word in the Kumeyaay language. She also affirmed, “No one ever consented or supported the use of dynamite on the mountain,” highlighting the lack of Indigenous consent.
Some tribal leaders met with DHS officials to urge protection for Kuuchamaa and are exploring legal action, attempts to navigate a state apparatus designed to facilitate such projects.
The Kumeyaay Nation comprises over a dozen tribes across California and Mexico’s Baja California, whose ancestral lands are bisected by the border, a historical consequence of imperial expansion.
In Arizona, DHS contractors last month carved through “Las Playas Intaglio,” a massive 1,000-year-old fish-shaped geoglyph etched into the desert floor within the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge.
The Tohono O’odham Nation had previously identified this rare drawing on its ancestral land for contractors to avoid. Tohono O’odham Chairman Verlon Jose stated 17 days ago, “This was a devastating and entirely avoidable loss,” emphasizing, “There is nothing more important than our history, which is what makes us who we are as O’odham.”
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) claimed 24 days ago that a contractor “inadvertently disturbed” the site, yet vowed to protect the remaining portion, a symbolic concession made after irreversible destruction.
CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott is reportedly engaging with tribal leaders to determine next steps, while the state's core project of border militarization continues.
Capital's Wall: Billions for Destruction
The Trump administration allocated over $46 billion to the border wall effort, funneling vast public resources into a project that directly conflicts with Indigenous sovereignty and cultural preservation, representing a significant transfer of public wealth to private contractors.
CBP has awarded contracts or begun construction on over 600 miles of new border wall, alongside surveillance technology, with a double wall planned or under construction along another 370 miles, ensuring continued surplus extraction for the construction industry.
In Arizona, heavy machinery extends a double wall in the Patagonia Mountains, threatening a wildlife corridor for endangered ocelots and jaguars, species considered “spiritual guardians” by the Tohono O’odham, demonstrating the environmental cost of this infrastructure.
Austin Nunez, a tribal leader, cited a 2025 lawsuit that unsuccessfully challenged the DHS waivers, illustrating the limitations of legal challenges against the state apparatus.
In Sunland Park, New Mexico, crews this year set off blasts on Mount Cristo Rey, a pilgrimage site. CBP is seeking to seize a strip of the mountain owned by the Roman Catholic Church for wall construction, an act of state-backed land expropriation.
The Diocese of Las Cruces asked a judge this month to deny the land transfer, citing affronts to religious liberties and the “faithful who seek to commune with God on Mount Cristo Rey,” highlighting the state's disregard for diverse spiritual practices.
In western Texas, the federal government notified ranchers 3 months ago of its interest in their land containing canyonland pictographs and petroglyphs, further demonstrating the state's power to seize private and communal resources for its projects.
Raymond Skiles, a retired Big Bend National Park ranger, described the sites as containing “paintings of shaman figures and various things that we don’t know how to interpret.”
After community backlash, CBP’s online planning map showed some 30-foot-wall plans were replaced with surveillance technology, patrols, and vehicle barriers, indicating that organized resistance can force tactical shifts, though not a halt to the overall project of border militarization.
A segment in Big Bend National Park and neighboring Big Bend Ranch State Park would rely on technology alone, shifting the form of control but not its fundamental purpose.
CBP stated it recognizes the importance of natural and cultural resources and is working to minimize construction’s impact, including leaving drainage gates open for animal passage, a claim contradicted by the ongoing destruction of sacred sites and habitats.
The agency also asserted that illegal border crossings have littered, polluted, and trampled sensitive habitat, attempting to shift blame for environmental degradation caused by its own infrastructure.
CBP indicated 535 miles of remote, rugged border terrain will solely rely on detection technology, expanding the surveillance state.
Resistance Against Dispossession
Desecrating a sacred Native American site on U.S. federal or tribal land is a felony, punishable by imprisonment and fines, yet the state's own contractors are engaged in such acts, revealing the selective application of law that protects capital interests over Indigenous rights.
The National Park Service listed Kuuchamaa Mountain in the National Register of Historic Places 34 years ago, noting that “discarding or disturbing the mountain’s natural state would be sacrilegious,” a limited protection now overridden by state policy.
Sarah Livia Brightwood Szekely, who runs the wellness resort Rancho La Puerta, noted the mountain's healing energy, connecting it to a broader community beyond Indigenous tribes, demonstrating the widespread value of the threatened site.
Meza Calles leads walks at Rancho La Puerta, teaching guests about Kuuchamaa, where traditionally young men spent 40 days at its base in coming-of-age ceremonies before becoming warriors or shamans.
She noted that today’s rituals are shorter and that people suffering from “death, debt, divorce or other difficulty” seek Kuuchamaa’s healing, underscoring the mountain's ongoing role as a communal resource.
Meza Calles concluded, “It’s sad they are ruining the mountain,” adding, “We’ll see how far they go. Destiny is destiny. But the fight is not over,” signaling the ongoing struggle against state-backed dispossession.