S-we:gĭ Li:li:stoñ - O'odham Pilgrimage to Ma:lina

This was created in October 2019, as a way to share one of many important reasons and ways that O'odham cross the US Mexico border. Each year, during the feast of St. Francis, hundreds of O'odham make pilgrimage by car or foot as acts of faith to what O'odham call Ma:lina/Magdalena, Mexico.
It also was a way to document the lands along the US Mexico border before it changed in the wake of the current and ongoing construction and destruction of O'odham lands in the name of border security. Border militarization has affected the O'odham community in many ways, but through our connections to the Jewed/land, Himdag/Culture and Hemajkam/Peoples, we remain strong and continue to move in faith and strength across borders.
Thank you to Ana Antone, Lucas Jose, Eli Lewis and Cissimarie Juan, as well as all who were a part of this experience, especially the Hemajkam. Many thanks to Amy Juan and Zachary Forman for bringing me into this project and sharing your time, energy, and wisdom.
Director of Photography: Nate Reininga
Produced by: Amy Juan, Zachary Forman, Nate Reininga
Editor/Sound: Nate Reininga
Music By: Amy Juan, Michael D. Enis, Ivan Burrell, Antoinette Encinas

[@pksteffen]

Thank you for sharing. Your land, your ways and your customs are yours. No one should take them away from you or separate you from family.

[@silvas8888]

Proud to be a Tohono O’odham descendant .. My Grand Moder born in Banori Sonora Mexico located within what was our land.

[@jo.m...9611]

My Ga'ga'ah was the Late Maria Escalate Mattia , from Sonoyta. Looking for any of her descendants. I've almost come close to meeting some near Lukeville.. Dangerous for me to explore alone at the time .. Would like to know or find any history of her family . She was about 14 or 15 when she came to start raing a family in Menagers Dam, TO Nation.

[@cece2845]

Beautiful nation, language and culture.

[@robertsitler1]

thanks for sharing your world

[@ceferinozamora3170]

I'm a Mexican father of tre tos I'll visit whit my son Jose solorzanos Miranda I'll walk the leand I keep this leands I know a little bit of the historical and what happened in the 1800 hundred s!!!

[@ceferinozamora3170]

Ceferino Zamora

[@nevaehsangel9620]

I don't get it, Mexico was Mexico since the beginning, Arizona was Mexico too. I'm confused, cause the people mixed with Mexicans too. Mexicans are Native. ❤🙏🏽 They're even Catholic so they're just blessed to still have their tribe ! 🙏🏽 We look the same. 🥰 Blessings to the people, beautiful. ❤ This is why Mexico is good to them, they're our cousins. 🥰

[@LAVirgo67]

Before the lands were named the US or Mexico, this was all one land divided by tribes of people that arrived some 30,000 years ago from the Asian continent. Europeans came along 500 years ago & colonized. Those from Catholic nations allowed for White Europeans to marry with the natives to convert them. Usually it was White men marrying or having children w/ indigenous women. Believe me that the Colonizers did everything in their power to convert natives & strip them of their traditions, customs & spirituality. Then the Colonizers started to divide the lands by borders, states & counties, so tribes were divided. This is what happened to the Tohono O'odham. My family is on the Sonora, Mexico side.

[@larrytsosie1451]

The Spaniards &Aztecs poopout Mexicans and mexico was estabilished