The People of La Junta for Preservation, a nonprofit founded in 2024 that works to preserve Indigenous sites, and two Indigenous worshippers of Lipan Apache lineage are suing the federal government to stop the highly contentious border barrier construction and surveying activities in Big Bend, the Texas Observer has learned.
The plaintiffs argue that ongoing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) construction and surveying activities in Big Bend National Park and across far West Texas have cut them off both from specific sacred sites and ecosystems fundamental to their spiritual practices in violation of Religious Freedom Restoration Act and American Indian Religious Freedom Act protections. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in San Antonio, not only seeks an immediate halt to construction activity in Big Bend National Park but across CBP’s Big Bend Sector.
