SENATE MEMORIAL 52

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2010

INTRODUCED BY

Phil A. Griego

A MEMORIAL

DECLARING FEBRUARY 14, 2010 "SANTA FE FOUR HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY DAY" AT THE SENATE AND COMMEMORATING THE MORE THAN FOUR-HUNDRED-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE SETTLEMENT AND FOUNDING OF SANTA FE.

     WHEREAS, before 1598, the pueblo people of the Rio Grande region of New Mexico had inhabited the area now known as Santa Fe; and

     WHEREAS, from the first arrival of New Mexico's Spanish colonists in August 1598, the pueblo people of the Rio Grande and adjoining regions of New Mexico provided support and sustenance to those colonists who persevered at San Gabriel del Yunque, the first capital of New Mexico, located in the pueblo lands of Ohkay Owingeh; and

     WHEREAS, before 1610, there existed a small settlement of Spanish colonists in the area now known as Santa Fe; and

     WHEREAS, on March 30, 1609, the viceroy of New Spain, Luis de Velasco II, upon the royal proclamation by the King of Spain, Philip III, ordered Governor Pedro de Peralta to arrive in New Mexico before the end of 1609 and establish a villa at the site of what is now Santa Fe; and

     WHEREAS, by 1610, Governor Peralta had established the villa at the site of what is now Santa Fe; and

WHEREAS, communal relations between the two peoples provided a pool for intermarriage, trade, defense and labor, both willing and unwilling; and

WHEREAS, the Spanish colonists and the pueblo people engaged in a two-way exchange of knowledge and cultural folkways that would be mutually advantageous for both peoples; and

WHEREAS, seventy years following the establishment of the villa of Santa Fe, the pueblo people took up arms and forced the inhabitants of the villa to retreat to El Paso del Norte; and

WHEREAS, in 1692, the Spanish colonists began a return to the villa, which resulted in an armed conflict lasting through 1696; and

WHEREAS, following the repopulation of Santa Fe, the pueblo people found ways to protect their culture while adapting to the Spanish form of government and continuing the process of mutual cultural interchange and support; and

WHEREAS, over the following years and into the twenty-first century, despite intermittent disputes, the colonists and their descendants, many of whom were and are tied by blood to the pueblo people and other surrounding Native American tribes, formed alliances and accommodated each other's cultures, which allowed Santa Fe to flourish; and

WHEREAS, the peaceful acceptance of each other's cultures continued after the United States' conquest of New Mexico in 1846, contributing to the evolution of Santa Fe's cultural heritage; and

WHEREAS, during 2010, Santa Fe will proudly observe the four-hundred-year anniversary of its settlement as a villa and its multicultural heritage with suitable events and observances by the residents of Santa Fe to commemorate its first four hundred years and to pass on to future generations the heritage of Santa Fe and the surrounding region; and

     WHEREAS, it is important that the commemoration provide a foundation for healing the past and opening the way for a permanent reconciliation between the descendants of Santa Fe's Spanish colonists and the pueblo peoples as well as the descendants of all of the other Santa Fe settlers who have contributed to Santa Fe's multicultural heritage;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that February 14, 2010 be declared "Santa Fe Four Hundredth Anniversary Day" at the senate and that congratulations be expressed to the residents of Santa Fe and gratitude be expressed to the surrounding pueblo communities for the commemoration of the four-hundred-year establishment of Santa Fe as a villa; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the pueblo people and the residents of Santa Fe be invited and encouraged to participate in ceremonies of reconciliation and mutual recognition in furtherance of the more than four-hundred-year history of Santa Fe; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the mayor and city council of the city of Santa Fe and to the governors and tribal councils of all the pueblos of New Mexico and to the other surrounding Native American tribes.

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