SENATE MEMORIAL 8

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017

INTRODUCED BY

Carlos R. Cisneros

A MEMORIAL

RECOGNIZING AND HONORING TONY REYNA'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO HIS COMMUNITY, THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO AND THE UNITED STATES.

     WHEREAS, Tony Reyna was born February 1, 1916 in Taos, New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Reyna was raised at the Pueblo of Taos, located in the Sangre de Cristo mountains of northern New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Reyna was educated at the Taos Pueblo day school and the Santa Fe Indian school, and he graduated from Santa Fe high school in 1936; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Reyna was a member of the New Mexico army national guard and was mobilized for active military duty in the Philippines during World War II; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Reyna was a Bataan death march survivor and endured three and one-half years of brutal captivity as a prisoner of war until he was liberated by Allied forces in 1945; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Reyna was a patient at the Letterman army hospital in San Francisco, California, and the Bruns army hospital in Santa Fe before he returned to settle back at Taos Pueblo and the Taos community; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Reyna opened the Tony Reyna's Indian shop in 1950 at the Pueblo of Taos, which has remained in continuous operation to this day; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Reyna was a highly respected member of the Pueblo of Taos governing body, beginning as secretary of the governor's office in 1975, then serving as lieutenant governor in 1977, as the Pueblo of Taos governor twice, in 1982 and 1992, and as a lifetime member of the Taos Pueblo council; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Reyna served as a police commissioner of the town of Taos, as a member of the Taos municipal school district board of education, as a trustee of the Millicent Rogers museum and as a tribal judge at the Santa Fe Indian market; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Reyna was named a Santa Fe living treasure in 1992, in recognition of a lifetime of service to the Pueblo of Taos and its people, his community, his state and his country; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Reyna was an honored veteran who served during times of peace and war; was a recognized leader of the Pueblo of Taos; and was a community leader of the highest and most exemplary accomplishments who demonstrated his public spirit and service to others; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Reyna celebrated his one hundredth birthday on February 1, 2016, and that day was declared by the senate of the state of New Mexico as "Tony Reyna Day" in the senate; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Reyna passed away on December 4, 2016 at his home, surrounded by his family;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that all New Mexicans, and indeed, all Americans, owe a debt of gratitude for the many years of selfless service bestowed upon us by Tony Reyna, an exemplary man who fought for the freedom we have today and who quietly shared his wisdom as an elder with all people; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor of the Pueblo of Taos, the mayor of the town of Taos, the adjutant general of New Mexico and the secretary of Indian affairs.

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