Use of masked agents on #TohonoOodham land sparks Native outrage at Cherokee #DHS chief #MarkwayneMullin

by Eileen Mamaghani and Ellis Preston August 28, 2026

WASHINGTON – "The recent incursion by masked federal agents on Tohono O’odham land didn’t just anger that tribe, which has been trying to block #BorderWall construction along the remote stretch it controls in #Arizona.

"It also infuriated #NativeAmericans who had higher hopes for Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, the former Oklahoma senator who is only the second Indigenous cabinet member ever.

" 'This is especially disappointing when the DHS is headed by … a member of the #CherokeeNation,' said Angelique EagleWoman, director of the Native American Law and Sovereignty Institute at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in Minnesota.

"Agents from Customs and Border Protection and the Bureau of Indian Affairs entered the Tohono O’odham Nation at 4 a.m. on Tuesday to prevent tribal authorities from blocking contractors, according to a statement issued that day by the Nation.

"Jason Nichols, like Mullin a member of the Cherokee Nation, called the incursion by masked agents a 'step backward' in federal-tribal relations – and surprising, given Mullin’s 'knowledge on the importance of #TribalSovereignty.' "

Read more:
https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2026/08/28/native-anger-mullin-masked-agents/

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#USPol #IndigenousLands #BorderWall #NoTrespassing #Illegal #RespectTheNations #RespectTheTreaties #IndigenousResistance #NoBorderWall #DefundDHS #IndigenousSovereignty #CronkiteNews