Melody Santa Cruz
O'odham and Piipaash Alliance
Presentations from Facing Race 2022
Let Our Ancestors Rest
While descendants of these ancestors learned of the excavation and reached out to the city to halt the project, the city won't respond, and tribal governments are conflicted when abiding by federal policy. The United Stated government had enacted laws and regulations which favor and protect land ownership, economic development, and the perpetuation of colonization. This means when Indigenous Peoples have something to rightfully complain about, the U.S. government pulls out their own set of rules, which do not align with Indigenous knowledge and moral systems and identifies federal and state regulations as a superior power.
Speakers: Marina Thomas, Melody Santa Cruz, Tina Austin