The San Miguel gate, located in the Tohono O’odham Nation (“People of the Desert”; hereafter TON), has allowed tribal members to continue to roam in the lands of the Sonoran Desert that is now divided between the U.S. and Mexico. Passage through San Miguel was for several years not complicated and allowed passage both by foot and by vehicle. The first major closure occurred in late 2016, when a unnamed Mexican private property owner (PPO) built an additional gate and fencing on his own accord and closed passage off via vehicles, allegedly because of private concerns related to drug cartels. TON members brought this issue to the Mexican consulate, whose response was that “[they were] not able to enforce or to directly investigate such matters.” TON members protested the closure, as several family members could no longer visit each other, pilgrimages to sacred sites became difficult to arrange, and access to groceries became restricted. Tribal members are still allowed in by-foot, but opening of the gate is sporadic and has contributed to several adverse effects. Vehicles have continued to be banned since 2016 and CBP enforces this request, assumingly on the private property owner’s behalf.

Many streaming services offer the option to buy movies or episodes of a television series, but that doesn’t mean that the purchaser now owns the movie or episode forever. Instead, what is being offered is a license, or permission, to view the movie or the episode, which can end if the streaming service itself loses the license to offer the movie to consumers. Is there a way for consumers to keep their access to movies they paid for despite whatever happens to the streaming service’s license to the movie or episode?

In many Massachusetts coastal communities, informal beach access paths have existed for generations, reflecting earlier norms of shared land use, particularly in areas influenced by Indigenous practices and early colonial norms. Historically, the custom was to allow the community uncontested access to the shoreline through these paths, as such use was not considered a problem. While this custom still exists in part today, it is becoming increasingly rare, and disputes over property interests in the pre-existing beach access trails are becoming increasingly common.

In my childhood house, there was a pathway that ran through the neighbor’s backyard, continued through our backyard, and ended in the communal alley at the end of our row of houses. Issues often arose over the communal uses of these pathways to bring items out to the alley, requiring that neighbors trek through each other’s backyards. These issues most often resulted from discontent over the lack of privacy in one’s own backyard when neighbors traipse through, especially during the summer months when people are more active outside.