The "Shadow Wolves" are a Native American tactical patrol unit assigned to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Sells,

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

located on the Tohono Oʼodham Nation that runs along the

Mexico–United States border The international border separating Mexico and the United States extends from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from urban areas to deserts. It is the List of ...

. The Shadow Wolves specialize in the

interdiction Interdiction is interception of an object prior to its arrival at the location where it is to be used in military, espionage, and law enforcement. Military In the military, interdiction is the act of delaying, disrupting, or destroying enemy f ...

of human and drug

smuggler Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...

s in the

Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert () is a hot desert and ecoregion in North America that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the Southwestern United States (in Arizona and California). It ...

, utilizing both technology and the traditional

tracking Tracking may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Tracking, in computer graphics, in match moving (insertion of graphics into footage) * Tracking, composing music with music tracker software * Eye tracking, measuring the position of ...

methods. In addition to the use of high-tech equipment, the unit relies on tracking techniques such as "cutting for sign", which includes investigating any kind of physical evidence left by smugglers (e.g., footprints, tire tracks, thread, clothing). The Shadow Wolves are the Department of Homeland Security's only Native American tracking unit specifically utilized for targeted interdiction operations. The unit was established by Congressional mandate in 1974 in response to rampant smuggling occurring through the Tohono O’odham Nation.

History

The "Shadow Wolves" law enforcement unit was created in 1974 by an Act of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

, after the U.S. federal government agreed to the Tohono O'odham Nation's demand that the officers have at least one fourth Native American ancestry. The Shadow Wolves became the first federal law enforcement agents allowed to operate on Tohono land. The unit is congressionally authorized to have as many as 21 members but, as of March, 2007, it consisted of only 15 members. Members of the unit come from nine different tribes, including the Tohono O'odham,

Blackfeet The Blackfeet Nation (, ), officially named the Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana, is a federally recognized tribe of Siksikaitsitapi people with an Indian reservation in Montana. Tribal members primarily belong ...

Lakota Lakota may refer to: *Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language Lakota ( ), also referred to as Lakhota, Teton or Teton Sioux, is a Siouan languages, Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of ...

Navajo The Navajo or Diné are an Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language. The states with the largest Diné populations are Arizona (140,263) and New Mexico (1 ...

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin ( ; Dakota/ Lakota: ) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples (translati ...

, and

Yaqui The Yaqui, Hiaki, or Yoeme, are an Indigenous people of Mexico and Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe, who speak the Yaqui language, a Uto-Aztecan language. Their primary homelands are in Río Yaqui valley in the no ...

. Originally part of the U.S Customs Service, the Shadow Wolves became part of the

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...

in 2003, when the U.S. Customs Service was folded into DHS. On December 22, 2021, during the 117th Congress, Rep. John Katko (R-NY-24) introduce
H.R. 5681
which proposed to broaden the Shadow Wolves' authorities while preserving the important legacy of the unit. The bill becam
Public Law 117-113
on April 19, 2022. The law provides flexibility to reclassify the Shadow Wolves, current and future, from GS-1801 Tactical Officers to GS-1811 Special Agents. The Tohono Oʼodham Nation, patrolled by the Shadow Wolves, covers , including a 76 mile (122 kilometer) stretch of land shared with Mexico. It is mainly made up of small, scattered villages. Between 2010 and 2020, interdiction and investigative efforts the Shadow Wolves have led or participated in have resulted in 437 drug and immigration arrests along with the seizure of over 117,264 pounds of drugs, 45 weapons, 251 vehicles and $847,928 in U.S. currency.

Global training missions

In addition to tracking smugglers on the U.S. border, the Shadow Wolves have also been asked to train

border guard A border guard of a country is a national security agency that ensures border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Germany, Italy or Ukraine) and rescue service duties. Name and uniform In diff ...

s and customs agents in other jurisdictions, including

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Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

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Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

, and

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

."Native American trackers to hunt bin Laden,"
''The Australian'', March 12, 2007. Retrieved March 12, 2007.
''

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'', October 5, 2004. Retrieved March 14, 2007. The unit was also used in the effort to hunt terrorists along the border of

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and

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by training regional border guards in Native American ancestral tracking methods."Report: Native American Trackers to Hunt Terrorists at Afghan Border"

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, March 12, 2007. Retrieved March 12, 2007.

In popular culture

* A documentary film about the Shadow Wolves, ''Shadow Wolves: Tracking of a Documentary'', was directed by Jack Kohler and produced by Joseph Arthur. The documentary profiles an intertribal group of Native Americans. * The Shadow Wolves were featured in the

National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney Enter ...

show ''Border Wars'' in the episode titled "Walk the Line"."Border Wars: Walk the Line"
, National Geographic Channel, retrieved May 5, 2010. * ''Shadow Wolves'' is a 2019 movie that is loosely based on real-life Shadow Wolves. * In the 2020 film ''

Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battle ...

'', Dr. Robotnik remarks that he learned tracking skills from Shadow Wolves. * The protagonist of the 2017

Steven Seagal Steven Frederic Seagal ( ; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, martial artist, and musician. A 7th-Dan (rank), dan Black belt (martial arts), black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instru ...

novel, '' The Way of the Shadow Wolves'', is a member of the Shadow Wolves. * A film about the Shadow Wolves from KosFilms and to be directed by Brian Kosiksy, called ''Call of the Shadow Wolves,'' was reportedly preparing for production in southern Arizona in October 2009.

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)
fact sheet. Border guards Mexico–United States border Native American topics Smuggling in the United States Tohono O'odham United States Department of Homeland Security United States Army Indian Scouts