Native Americans And The Fence

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Border police and steel barriers along the line in San Diego have cut down on the ease of Native Americans whose families reside on one or the other side of the fence since the 1990s. The Kumeyaay tribe had to take decisive action if they were to be able to remain close and stay together.

"The Kumeyaay were like a broken vase, and we needed the pieces back together again," said Louie Guassac, executive director of the Kumeyaay Border Task Force.

In 1998 the tribe formed the Kumeyaay Border Task Force knowing that without some sort of action on their part would change the closeness of the kin.

"We thought, let's get these people over here who can help rebuild our nation as a whole nation, instead of having pieces on both sides of the border," said Guassac.

The first step was to take a census of the members who dot along Baja California. Many of the tribe live in small remote villages or on large communal farms called ejidos. The process in Mexico was carried out under eyes of Mexican authorities. In the end 1,300 tribal members had Mexican passports to get their the mobility to travel back and forth.

The next step was to negotiate with the U.S. immigration authorities in San Diego. The task force were able to obtain U.S. laser visas for the Mexican passport holders which allow members to cross to and from California legally though the Tecate port of entry and stay for periods up to six months.

We wanted to get the artisans and the knowledge keepers to go back forth, and that's how we got this ball rolling," said Guassac.

There earlier actions have made possible the tribe to remain close. The members easily and frequently visit either side of the border. Knowledge is being shared between communities.

"We don't know our relatives there as well as we should ... I think it helped reconnecting with our people down there" in Mexico, said Paul Cuero Jr., the chairman of the Campo Band of the Kumeyaay, east of San Diego.

Northern tribal members have taught their Mexican family the traditional gambling game of peon played with dice like pieces of white and black bone. They have also passed on bird songs that celebrate the natural world. Many of those songs had been lost to those on the Mexican border.

The southern tribal members have taught their northern kin traditional handicrafts of pottery and basket weaving. They have also shared agricultural techniques.

The Kumeyaay language had been losing ground in the United States but with the help of their Mexican kin who generally speak fluent Kumeyaay its being re-learnt. In Mexico the native tongue is spoken in the home with the children learning Spanish only when they start in school.

The next step for the tribe is to obtain work visas for those in Mexico to help at the tribe's four casinos in California.

"What we have shown is that people who live along the borders are not the enemies of the government, but can be their valued allies," said Guassac. "They need to understand that."