Federal Seizure of Texas Parks for Border Wall Exposes Colonial Land Regimes and Ecological Colonialism

The seizure of Texas parks for border infrastructure is a continuation of colonial land regimes that have dispossessed Indigenous peoples since the 16th century, including the Apache, Comanche, and Kickapoo nations. Big Bend National Park sits on lands stolen from the Chisos and Mescalero Apache, whose descendants continue to assert land-back claims. The militarization of these spaces erases Indigenous stewardship practices that have sustained biodiversity for millennia, replacing them with extractive logics of control.

This is the latest iteration of a 200-year pattern of U.S. border militarization, from the Texas Rangers' campaigns against Mexican and Indigenous communities to the 1994 'Prevention Through Deterrence' policy that funneled migration into deadly desert corridors. The 2006 Secure Fence Act authorized 700 miles of barriers, many through protected areas, setting a precedent for today's land grabs. Historical parallels include the enclosure of the commons in 18th-century England and the displacement of Native nations for railroads and dams.

In Australia, the 'White Australia Policy' and its modern iterations (e.g., offshore detention centers) demonstrate how border militarization is a global phenomenon tied to white supremacy and settler colonialism. Palestinian land defense strategies, such as the Sumud Freedom Project, highlight the role of Indigenous resistance in reclaiming militarized landscapes. In India, the construction of the India-Bangladesh border fence has similarly disrupted ecosystems and displaced Adivasi communities, mirroring Texas' ecological and social costs.

Border barriers have been empirically linked to increased flooding (e.g., 2018 Santa Ana River flood in California), habitat fragmentation (e.g., jaguar and ocelot populations in Big Bend), and groundwater contamination from construction runoff. Studies show that walls disrupt wildlife migration patterns, with documented declines in species like the desert bighorn sheep and Mexican gray wolf. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has warned that barriers in the Lower Rio Grande Valley could push endangered species like the ocelot toward extinction.

Artists like Terrol Dew Johnson (Tohono O’odham) and Ofelia Zepeda (Tohono O’odham poet) have long used their work to resist border militarization, framing it as a violation of cultural memory and ecological harmony. The border wall has inspired murals, poetry, and songs across the Southwest, including the work of the collective *Borderlands Theater*, which stages performances in resistance to state violence. Indigenous-led ceremonies, such as the annual *Run for the River* along the Rio Grande, reassert spiritual connections to land and water against colonial narratives of scarcity.

If unchecked, federal land seizures for border infrastructure could accelerate the collapse of biodiversity hotspots like Big Bend, with cascading effects on regional water security and climate resilience. Scenario modeling by the U.S. Geological Survey suggests that barriers could exacerbate desertification by disrupting seed dispersal and soil stabilization processes. Long-term, this trend risks normalizing the securitization of all public lands, turning national parks into carceral landscapes under the guise of 'national security.'

The Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas has led land-back actions to reclaim sacred sites like *Yana-T’i* (Mother Mountain), framing the border wall as a continuation of colonial violence. Local ranchers, including those in the *No Border Wall Coalition*, have documented economic losses from flooding and land seizures, yet their voices are excluded from mainstream narratives. Women-led groups like *Mujeres de la Tierra* in South Texas have highlighted how militarization exacerbates gender-based violence by creating lawless corridors for cartels and state actors alike.