California Immigration: Day 3

 Day 3 by Julia and Lakelyn:

Today we started our journey back to san diego, but before we could head to the waves we had a few stops first. This morning, we learned about how indigenous peoples were affected by the wall. We first went to the Imperial Valley Desert Museum that was dedicated to bringing to light the culture of the Kumeyaay people. Before the wall was built, Mexican citizens came to California for church services and to do their shopping, but this became impossible to do, causing a major shift in routine. Most of the other indigenous people in the area who also relied on traveling through different biomes depending on the season could no longer do so. We found it so impactful that these people had no say in the destruction of their culture. We did learn that with the help of the museum, there has been a resurgence in Kumeyaay culture. Our next stop was a winery found along the border, which was also directly affected and influenced by the border wall. We were given a tour of the vineyard and drove along the wall that overlooked the owners property. We were given the chance to talk to the owners who shared their experiences with the border patrol, which they had good relations with. In addition they told us about how they have witnessed refugees rush through their land in hopes to make it past the border. The father recalled times when the border wall was not there and he would head across the country “lines” to have meals with friends. He shared that before, relations and sharing cultures with people from Mexico was very accessible, but now with the fence… it’s impossible. After meeting with the tour guide at the imperial valley museum as well as the winery owners, we were given two very different, yet important, perspectives of how land along the border wall has been affected. We finished the day with watching the sun set and reflecting as a group about what we learned.