Indigenous leaders in Mexico say construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall is desecrating sacred sites. In Tecate, a Kumeyaay Nation tribal leader, Norma Meza Calles, describes Kuuchamaa Mountain as central to the community’s spiritual life, saying a shaman transformed into the mountain in creation stories. At a wellness resort overlooking the mountain, she conducts a ceremony in which participants burn white sage and close their eyes to “feel its presence,” which she compares to a church. Meza Calles and other Indigenous leaders argue that wall-related activities threaten or harm areas they consider sacred and connected to healing and cultural identity. The reporting is based on an account shared by Meza Calles at the site facing the mountain. While the articles focus on Indigenous concerns about the wall’s impact on sacred land, they do not provide detailed descriptions of specific damage or the full scope of the construction’s effects in the shared excerpts. The issue is presented as a dispute over how border infrastructure development intersects with Indigenous cultural and religious sites.
Indigenous leaders say U.S.-Mexico border wall work desecrates sacred sites
Indigenous leaders in Mexico say construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall is desecrating sacred sites. In Tecate, a Kumeyaay Nation tribal leader, Norma Meza Calles, describes Kuuchamaa Mountain as...
- Kumeyaay Nation tribal leader Norma Meza Calles says Kuuchamaa Mountain is sacred and important to spiritual practices.
- Meza Calles describes a creation story in which a shaman transformed into the mountain.
- A ceremony at a Tecate wellness resort includes burning white sage and facing Kuuchamaa Mountain.
- Indigenous leaders say U.S.-Mexico border wall construction is desecrating or harming sacred sites.
- The accounts are reported in connection with wall construction near the Tecate area.
TECATE, Mexico (AP) — White sage burning, Norma Meza Calles gathers guests at a Mexican wellness resort into a semicircle facing Kuuchamaa Mountain and asks everyone to close their eyes and feel its presence.
3 months agoTECATE, Mexico (AP) — White sage burning, Norma Meza Calles gathers guests at a Mexican wellness resort into a semicircle facing Kuuchamaa Mountain and asks everyone to close their eyes and feel its presence. "This is sacred to us like a church for you all. The mountain is our healer, our psychologist," said Meza Calles, a Kumeyaay Nation tribal leader who explains that in its creation story a shaman transformed into the mountain. "Here is...
3 months agoWhite sage burning, Norma Meza Calles gathers guests at a Mexican wellness resort into a semicircle facing Kuuchamaa Mountain and asks everyone to close their eyes and feel its presence.
3 months ago
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