Dont ComplyProPublica reports that Native American remains were unearthed at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in soil overturned by Customs and Border Protection contractors building a second border wall. The National Park Service told ProPublica the discovery was made Sept. 8, and that a University of Arizona assessment confirmed the remains are human and align with tribal cremation practices. The agency said it is working to identify the culturally affiliated tribe. CBP said it learned of the find six days later, that its specialists found no other remains, and that no further construction has occurred at the location. ProPublica reports that a 2019 DHS waiver set aside the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and remains in effect, and that a second waiver was issued last year. Sundt Construction referred questions to CBP. Tohono O'odham Chairman Verlon Jose called such discoveries a predictable result of the disturbance.
Why it matters
According to ProPublica, DHS waivers allow border wall work to proceed without laws that protect Native American graves and sacred sites, and the waivers have no end date. Tribal leaders had warned that construction would disturb ancestral remains.
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