From: Villages of District 6 (Lone Butte, Santa Cruz, Gila Crossing, Komatke and Co-op), Gila River Community and Gila River Against Loop 202:
To: Gila River Indian Community tribal government , Arizona Department of Transportation, Maricopa Associations of Governments, and the Federal Highway Administration.
The following is a statement from the Villages of District 6:
Whereas, the Akimel O’odham People are the original people of the District Six Gila River Indian Community, and
Whereas, the District Six Community Akimel O’odham people are trying to maintain their lands through oral history, and sacred sites, the teachings of Se-eh-ha, maintain their inherent way of life including conducting ceremonies, making offerings to the land, waterways and mountains as well as using all the biological and environmental resources of the region as food and medicinal sources and,
Whereas, the Akimel O’odham know that regardless of what environmental and cultural protection laws would be implemented and enforced for this project, the effects of hazardous pollutants from the traffic that would travel the South Mountain Loop 202 Freeway extension, will have a detrimental and injurious effect on the human and biological environment of the region and a devastating effect on all the Akimel O’odham people, culture, traditions, and sacred sites,
Be it further resolved, that we call on the Government of the State of Arizona to enforce their existing environmental and cultural protection laws and stop this project and protect the human and biological environment, culture, and sacred sites of the region,
Be it further resolved, that we call on the United States Government to exercise its environmental justice and trust responsibilities to speak out in defense of the culture and sacred sites of O’odham who are United States citizens whose spiritual well-being would be devastated by the proposed South Mountain Loop 202 Extension that would desecrate an O’odham sacred area;
Be it finally resolved, that the United States Government, both Federal and State, mandate improvement of its communication with the O’odham representation in the State of Arizona, United States and improve its protection of O’odham people, culture and sacred sites.
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