Washington, D.C. – Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Arizona), Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee with jurisdiction over Native American affairs, and Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-New Mexico), Chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, today hailed the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) for resolving, at its Executive Council Winter Session, to oppose border wall construction on Native American land without tribal consent. The resolution increases pressure on the Trump administration and its Republican allies to explain how they intend to build their wall along the U.S.-Mexico border without the consent or support of the Tohono O’odham Nation, or that of other affected Tribes. The Tohono O’odham Nation, whose opposition to the wall has been highlighted in the Washington Post and elsewhere, lies within Rep. Grijalva’s district.

“The NCAI resolution is a clear statement from our Native American brothers and sisters across the country that they will not see their land seized or their rights trampled by this administration. Trump may have bullied his way into the White House by spreading delusions of a border wall, but if he expects to bully the tribes whose land the wall would cut across, he is gravely mistaken. Native Americans will not give legal consent to any entity determining what happens with their sovereign lands, and will in every way possible oppose the Trump Administration’s plans to build a wall on tribal land.”

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