Ofelia Rivas

My people are the O’odham from the desert, O’odham means people. The O’odham oral history teaches us where and when we originated and how to live on the land and follow our way of life called the Him’dag.  My homelands are illegally occupied by the United States of America and the Republic States of Mexico—an International Boundary bisected my homelands.  Today we live on reservations “wards of the state”, where the poverty levels are above national levels. My father’s community is in Cu:Wi I-gersk, Sonora, Mexico and my mother’s community is Ali Jegk, Arizona, USA. I hold my alliance with my Indigenous brothers and sisters and my traditional O’odham Elders and ceremony leaders. The traditional O´odham hold their alliance to Mother Earth. No written documents required.  I carry the words from my traditional elders and ceremony leaders.  They call for solidarity to defend the sacred places of our people for our survival.  They call to defend the source of our original birthplaces as people, Mother Earth, Father Sky and the sacred Water and Air.