Border Patrol Tohono Oodham: After hearing gunshots at night, Border Patrol agents proceeded to Raymond Mattia’s house in southern Arizona’s Tohono O’odham tribe. It was night.
Desert Mattias lived here for decades, near the south. Border police, traffickers, and migrants formed a complex pattern on the desert dunes. Raymond Mattia patrolled his field with a flashlight. He called his older sister to say he wanted to talk to the newly arriving agents on that dangerous night in Maybad choice.
In the turmoil of that May night, three Border Patrol officers changed history with a bullet in the desert. Nine shots killed Raymond Mattia in the countryside. The official inquiry revealed a death and persistent bullet marks. The Border Patrol says a man threw an officer a sheathed knife and held out his arm. Right away. Mattia’s relatives stated he didn’t have guns and wasn’t a threat enough to deserve such a horrible finish.
This calamity shook the 62-mile southern frontier Tohono O’odham Nation. The federal agency cannot be on Native American land due to longstanding opposition. To reach Tucson, tribes must pass through reservation border security checkpoints. However, police encounters have created a lasting impression of fear and mistrust.
Local Vivian Manuel stated, “I’m always on guard and filled with fear and unease.” She considered how often these folks had asked her who she was and her function in the organization. People feel watched daily.
Tohono O’odham leaders have many allegiances and disputes. Even though they don’t appreciate what happened, they realize the Border Patrol helps halt drugs and illegal immigration. People trading hurt this Connecticut-sized Native American hamlet. Over 600 migrants have died in tough terrain in the past decade. This excursion is costly and complex. The tribe lost land and money that could have benefited its small police squad.
Tucson Border Patrol Sector Chief John R. Modlin says tribes help the agency maintain national security in this tangled web of friendships and tensions. In the Border Patrol’s online tale, agents are firemen, desert plant cultivators, and guards against car-trunk smugglers.
The Border Patrol recounted Mattia’s death, including body camera footage. The FBI and Tohono O’odham Police Department are investigating, raising questions and rumors. Tribal chiefs navigate justice carefully. Mattia’s death saddened Tohono O’odham chief Ned Norris Jr., but he didn’t rush to judgment. He spoke calmly.
This event harmed border communities. These clans doubt their identity due to their lengthy land dispute with the government. Cartel activity and armed agents are different concerns.
READ MORE: Tribute Star Angus Cloud: Euphoria Debunking Misconceptions
“As tribal members, we have to deal with drug cartels and the armed border patrol agents,” said Tucson Pascua Yaqui Tribe leader Peter Yucupicio. The trouble is that it’s hard to tell if the fragile balance between safety, security, clan identification, and violence will be lost forever. Tohono O’odham and similar groups fight between these worlds.
Since 2020, US Customs and Border Protection’s Border Patrol has participated in 15 gun-related events annually. These occur following car chases or while the Line Patrol is pursuing illegal border crossers. This complicates their work.
This narrative differs because a tribe member was shot on tribal land. Before the border, the Tohono O’odham, meaning “desert people,” moved through the Sonoran desert. Nomads used natural waterways. They chased fast deer and ate vegetation. The 1853 Gadsden Purchase established the U.S.-Mexico boundary.
Watchtowers and stations followed. They altered the landscape. 33,000 tribesmen. Most reside outside the reservation and cross borders, proving they have always lived on both sides. Meetings go differently than planned, and politics change, making this trip difficult.
The tribe’s embrace of the Border Patrol as a friend in fighting thieves and growing suspicion of them due to their violent contacts reveal both sides. A 2014 Border Patrol agent assaulted two Tohono O’odham men. This painfully illustrates how dangerous these situations are. The judge later ruled that the killing was wrong and that the victims should be compensated, which shows how tricky these cases can be.
Raymond Mattia’s death remains a mystery. Tribal police notified the Border Patrol of the Menagers Dam shooting around 9 p.m.