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Construction crews in Arizona who are building President Trump’s expanded border wall have razed a portion of a Native American archeological site in the Sonoran Desert estimated to be at least 1,000 years old. Aerial photos reveal that bulldozers caused extensive damage to a 280-by-50-foot etching in the desert sand known as an intaglio, which holds special significance for the Hia-Ced O’odham people.

Lorraine Marquez Eiler, co-founder of the International Sonoran Desert Alliance and an elder of the Hia-Ced O’odham, says locals informed both the work crews and Border Patrol officials about the significance of the intaglio.

“On Thursday, late afternoon, they were still talking about how to protect the area and went home feeling that they were still working together. On Friday, for whatever reason, the contractors bulldozed the area,” says Marquez Eiler.

“This wall cuts through sovereign ancestral lands that existed long before the U.S.-Mexico border,” adds Congressmember Adelita Grijalva, whose district includes the area. “The federal government is prioritizing this rapid construction of an unnecessary wall without any meaningful tribal consultation.”

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

Federal Report Finds Tribal Burial, Cultural Sites “Blasted” for Border Wall

AMY GOODMAN: In Arizona, construction crews working on President Trump’s expanded border wall with Mexico have destroyed a portion of a thousand-year-old Native American archeological site in the Sonoran Desert. The Washington Post reports bulldozers caused extensive damage to the rare 280-by-50-foot etching in the desert sand known as the intaglio, which holds special significance for the Hia-Ced O’odham people.

We’re also joined now by an elder of the Hia-Ced O’odham. Lorraine Marquez Eiler is co-founder of the International Sonoran Desert Alliance and lives in the town of Ajo near the U.S.-Mexico border.

Thank you so much for being with us, Lorraine. What has happened there? What is this new, expanded border wall and these ancient remains being........

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