Visitors and Intruders
Being Tohono O’odham, the reality of my homeland being separated by a geopolitical line allow me as an artist to address the condition of border life experiences. Traditional O’odham lands extended north to Phoenix, Arizona, south to Hermosillo, Sonora, east to the San Pedro River just outside Tucson, AZ and west to Yuma, AZ and the Sea of Cortez. With the signing of the Gadsden Purchase in 1853, the present-day international border line as we know it was set, cutting our people in half.
My work touches on memory and place, the prints I produced for this series allowed me to delve into memories I previously never talked or thought much about. Through printmaking I confront the reality of foreign invaders vowed to protect the U.S./Mexico border with no consideration for my people as well as those searching for asylum from their respective homelands.
Although O’odham never experienced displacement throughout history, the ongoing invasion of Border Patrol onto our lands has caused traumatic disruptions to our ways of life. My intent with these prints is to show how our people have been affected by Border Patrol surveillance/harassment and the ongoing interactions with the flow of migrants crossing our desert through mine and my family’s personal experiences
My work touches on memory and place, the prints I produced for this series allowed me to delve into memories I previously never talked or thought much about. Through printmaking I confront the reality of foreign invaders vowed to protect the U.S./Mexico border with no consideration for my people as well as those searching for asylum from their respective homelands.
Although O’odham never experienced displacement throughout history, the ongoing invasion of Border Patrol onto our lands has caused traumatic disruptions to our ways of life. My intent with these prints is to show how our people have been affected by Border Patrol surveillance/harassment and the ongoing interactions with the flow of migrants crossing our desert through mine and my family’s personal experiences