When Growth is More akin to a Tumor: The AZ Republic Stumps for the Loop 202 Freeway

The frame-up of the Akimel O’odham and Maricopa communities of the Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) is in full effect. For over thirty years, city and state planners have tried to fund a section of the Loop 202 freeway that would extend from Chandler to Laveen on the south side of South Mountain. They did this knowing full well that the communities in Gila River have opposed the construction of any freeway on or near the reservation. In particular, the residents of District Six, who would be most impacted by a freeway due to their immediate proximity to the proposed Loop 202, have already drafted a resolution against any freeway construction, as did the tribal council back in 2005.

Now GRIC residents and tribal members have to go to the polls on February 7 to show that, for the third time, the tribe wants no freeway. There have been three proposals for the freeway, an alignment through Ahwatukee that would mean for the destruction of some of the western side of South Mountain; a path through GRIC that would place the freeway, the toxic pollution, and the noise near villages; or the “No-Build” alignment which, despite the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT)’s best effort to conceal, is still a viable option. It is still possible that the freeway will never be built.

The belief held by the business, political, and civic leaders is that this growth is good, it’s unstoppable, and everyone can benefit. Pay no mind to the major implications the freeway and accompanying development will have on the air, the land, the wildlife, and the people who live not only in Gila River, but nearby Laveen, Chandler, and Ahwatukee.

With just under one month until the proposed Loop 202 freeway extension goes to a vote in GRIC, the Arizona Republic editorial board has written one of the most unabashed attacks on the residents of GRIC. In an editorial titled “Gila River tribe should vote to allow freeway on its land” the Republic’s board contends that the benefits of the proposed 22 mile, eight lane, 1.9 billion dollar project outweigh any of the perceived drawbacks. If the Republic editorial is a rallying call to the Akimel O’odham residents of GRIC, and the original inhabitants of this land, it is an utter failure. However, if the editorial board is trying to cast the O’odham communities as villains if the freeway is voted down, then they may have succeeded with this slimy piece of pro-freeway propaganda.

In their own words:

“It may seem like a no-brainer for tribal members to approve the freeway on their land. Economic-development projects typically follow freeways, and this one would provide more access to casinos. But tribal members are well aware of the benefits. Their concerns center on increased traffic and air pollution, and loss of more land, especially after the state promised but neglected to build interchanges and frontage roads years ago on Interstate 10, which cut the reservation in half.”

The editorial board moves on to congratulate longtime freeway booster, Phoenix City Councilman Sal Diciccio, for uniting enough of his constituents in his district of Ahwatukee to force the vote in GRIC. Likewise, the Republic applauds Governor Brewer, ADOT, and the Maricopa Association of Governments for their part in pressuring tribal leaders to accept the freeway plan.

So, what I’m hearing the editorial board say is that they acknowledge that people in GRIC don’t want a big stinking, noisy mess in their community, not to mention (since the editorial board conveniently left this out) that the tribe had been told by ADOT that they can only choose between the on reservation alignment, or ensure the destruction of a sacred site by keeping the freeway off the reservation on the Ahwatukee alignment. Neither ADOT, nor the tribal government acknowledged the third option of “No Build” until they received pressure from grassroots groups of Akimel O’odham and Tohono O’odham who are organizing in the GRIC communities against the freeway.

Those organizing in Gila River are joined by a coalition of friends and allies from outside the community who are also concerned about the effects of yet another road or freeway project that will negatively impact the valley’s environment and people. Some of us have been organizing against the freeway for a few months, others for many years now, just as we are facing off against a revolving door of bureaucrats and moneymen who have been pushing for this project for over 30 years.

We are determined to defend South Mountain and to put a stop to any extension of the Loop 202. We want to live free from toxins in the air, the ground, the water, and our bodies. We want these things because of our respect for the Akimel O’odham people, the original inhabitants of the land (before the colonial theft by Spain and subsequent dispossessions by Mexico and the United States), and because we ourselves desire a world where we are free from the bonds of capitalist "progress" and "growth."

These are never concepts that are synonymous with our individual or collective well being, rather it’s the growth for the rich and powerful, it’s the new roads and expressways for their goods to travel faster on. It’s their capital that accumulates at a quicker rate than ever before, progressing leaps and bounds beyond last years projections. These concepts are so in contrast with the balance required for human life in the desert that rooting them on is like cheering for the growth of a tumor, as it progresses to a terminal stage.

Shutting this freeway down is a first step towards the undoing of the damage that has been done to the valley for over a hundred years, it is also a step in the right direction in letting our neighbors in Gila River know that they are not alone in this struggle, nor will they be in their next.

A historical fragment- Dispossession and control in occupied O'odham land

Phoenix, 1898

A reconstructed selection from an invaluable resource of local history, Bradford Luckingham's PHOENIX: THE HISTORY OF A SOUTHWEST METROPOLIS:

As Phoenix entered the 1880s, violent language and racist laws were common when it came to the white settlers and their treatment of the people indigenous to the valley. The federal government had recently enacted the policy of indigenous peoples' containment to reservations, and the seizure of lands for the interests of business and Euroamerican/white settlers. Akimel O'odham, Pii-posh, Maricopa, and Apache people were regularly scapegoats for white politicians and citizen groups as the cause of social unease, crime, and vice in Phoenix. White settlers, while newly present in the region, organized a mass meeting in Phoenix in September 1881, hoisting a banner which read "Removal or Death for the Apache." The violent and genocidal attitude of whites wasn't just aimed at the Apaches, who had been in anti-colonial armed conflict for thirty years at this point, but even the local people from the Akimel O'odham and Maricopa communities, who were not engaged in armed conflict with the Phoenix colonial occupation, were also treated with hostility and contempt by the state and citizenry.

The presence of Akimel O'odham and Maricopa people who ventured into the new cities was detested by the white population, who complained that "lounging about the streets are a great many Indians." In addition, whites gave violent physical and verbal abuse to indigenous people who were perceived as hanging around local landmarks such as city hall, or the train depot. In May 1881, racist and colonial legislation was passed by the city making it illegal for any indigenous person to be on city streets "without sufficient clothing to cover the person", or to be in the city after dark unless employed by a white Phoenix resident. The white settler enacted criminalization and banishment as a response to any resistance to the Anglo-colonial mentality that the early founders of Phoenix sought to impose on the original inhabitants of the region. Similarly, Scottsdale was also a "sundown town" for O'odham people who were coming from the neighboring Salt River reservation.

Navigating history as a blueprint for solidarity in the era of racialized policing, ecological destruction, and militarization

Four hundred copies of this flier were distributed during this morning's annual St. Patrick's day parade in central Phoenix. The flier was handed out by The Black Shamrock Society, an ad hoc group of 10 anti-authoritarians and anarchists, who marched in the parade with banners in support of migrants and regional indigenous struggles.

What does Irish-American solidarity look like?

“Irish-American Solidarity” is a contingent of Irish-Americans and allies dedicated to solidarity and support for the indigenous people of this region, as well as the Latino immigrant communities in the greater Phoenix area. We march in this year’s St. Patrick’s Day to honor the legacy of the San Patricio Battalion, a group of Irish immigrants who escaped the Irish potato famine to the US, and ultimately became the symbols of Irish-Mexican solidarity after deserting the US army during the Mexican-American war.

Like an all too familiar contemporary immigrant narrative, the conscripted Irish soldiers faced racism from their nativist commanding officers and soldier counter parts, including denying them Sunday mass. When these new immigrant soldiers were then given orders to attack Mexican forces, they refused and deserted, instead fighting alongside the Mexican army against the US invasion. After the end of the war, many of the San Patricio were executed by the US army as traitors, but the legacy of their friendship and sacrifices resonated with so many Mexican people that they were not soon forgotten. 150 years later, it was a group of activists from Ireland who made the English language translations of statements and news from the Zapatista indigenous peasant uprising available on the internet, forcing the Mexican government to stop any repression.


The dual ugliness of the occupation by England, and the Irish potato famine made life unbearable for many poor Irish. In 1847, at the height of the famine, the Irish received a great gesture of support from the Chocktaw people, who raised $170, no small amount of money in the mid 1800s, to help starving Irish men, women, and kids. That this donation was collected after the brutal and deadly forced relocation of the Chocktaw to Oklahoma, known as the Trail of Tears, speaks volumes of the generosity of native peoples who recognized the crisis that Irish people faced.

As Irish-Americans, almost all of us are in the US as the result of England’s (continuing)colonial occupation, and yet we are also standing by as colonial attacks continue on the O’odham people, indigenous to this land we are on. Right now the O’odham face the partial destruction of their holy mountain of this area, many of us call it South Mountain, for the planned 202 freeway extension. This is the desecration of a sacred site. It was just a few years ago that there was a similar campaign in Ireland against the construction of a motorway through the valley of Tara, a world heritage site containing ancient burial grounds. This too was a desecration, and although the highway was eventually constructed, people resisted this development with civil disobedience, protest marches, and sabotage of building equipment.

We don’t need another roadway, our relatives in Ireland knew it, and our O’odham neighbors in Gila River know it too. Once again, it’s the politicians and corporations who want more progress, but what’s progressing other than the destruction of the earth and our health while they look for more profit? Is knocking 25 minutes off of a semi truck’s drive by bypassing Phoenix worth destroying part of south mountain and putting another environmental health hazard in an area where indigenous people will be most effected?

We fully extend our solidarity to the O’odham people further south in Arizona as well, to the effect that we too want an end to the militarization of Tohono O’odham lands that are divided by the US/Mexico border wall and occupied by Border Patrol and US military. We also want an end to all racist anti-immigrant laws aimed at migrants fleeing political and economic hardships. Irish history is a proud history of resistance to colonialism and oppression, and as Irish-Americans we should all be glad to carry on this tradition of solidarity and resistance to oppression.



ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

NO SOUTH MOUNTAIN FREEWAY
nosouthmountainfreeway.wordpress.com

O’ODHAM SOLIDARITY ACROSS BORDERS
oodhamsolidarity.blogspot.com

PHOENIX CLASS WAR COUNCIL
firesneverextinguished.blogspot.com

SURVIVAL SOLIDARITY
survivalsolidarity.wordpress.com

CHAPARRAL RESPECTS NO BORDERS
chaparralrespectsnoborders.blogspot.com