Openings & Closings | Opinion

EJ Montini: Horses treated better than Tohono O'odham Nation

Monday, August 31, 2015

An updated rendering of the West Valley Resort under construction in Glendale, Arizona. Image from WVR

Arizona Republic columnist EJ Montini wonders why politicians are treating a herd of wild horses better than the Tohono O'odham Nation simply because the tribe is building the West Valley Resort near Phoenix:

Following a public outcry over the U.S. Forest Service’s plan to relocate free-roaming horses near the Salt River, members of Arizona’s congressional delegation, along with Gov. Doug Ducey, sprang into action.
Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake sent a letter to the Tonto National Forest supervisor and the director of the Arizona Department of Agriculture, asking them to delay the relocation plan. They were joined by members of the House of Representatives and by the governor.
“Wild horses are an integral part of the history of the America’s West,” said Rep. Matt Salmon in a statement.
And it’s true.
They are.
Then again, native people also are an integral part of the history of the American West. And they continue to make the desert Southwest their home.
We are the newcomers.
Back in 1986, Congress passed legislation meant to compensate the Tohono O’dham for land that was flooded by a federal government project. The land the tribe purchased afterwards is outside the tribe’s traditional borders, but that doesn’t make it any less their land. Tribal land.
So they are building a casino on it.

Get the Story:
EJ Montini: Politicians treating herd better than tribe (The Arizona Republic 8/30)