The US border wall is encroaching on Kumiai sacred territory

Machinery operating on the U.S. side of Cerro Cuchumá, Baja California, on April 17.Aimee Melo

Daniela, 26, grew up in the Kumiai community of San José in Tecate. For her community, these works also threaten an entire diversity of native flora and fauna.Aimee Melo

Explosions have been reported during the wall’s construction, alarming the Kumiai community.Aimee Melo

Despite efforts on the Mexican side to try to halt the work — including an urgent appeal from Baja California’s Culture Secretariat — construction continues.Aimee Melo

Isaac Romo displays a Kumiai craft — a protective necklace used within the community.Aimee Melo

The U.S. government had no border barrier on the sacred mountain because of a 1990s agreement meant to protect the site, but that accord has now been broken without prior notice.Aimee Melo

In the past, Cerro Chucumá was used by the Kumiai as a ceremonial site for their warriors, where they even created cave paintings.Aimee Melo

The National Institute of Anthropology and History has not issued any documentation or statement in defense of Cerro Cuchumá, despite the fact that various scholars have published evidence of the artifacts found there, such as cave paintings and monoliths.Aimee Melo

According to the book 'Yumanos' by Everardo Garduño, a professor at the Autonomous University of Baja California, the Kumiai are one of the five communities known linguistically as Yuman, which developed primarily in Southern California, Arizona, and Baja California, as well as in a region of Sonora.Aimee Melo

The mountain straddles both sides of the border, in a region where the political line slices through an otherwise continuous ecosystem.Aimee Melo

Sage is one of the sacred plants for the Kumiai community, used as part of their customary practices.Aimee Melo