HOUSE MEMORIAL 29
56th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2023
INTRODUCED BY
Kristina Ortez and Ambrose Castellano and Tara L. Lujan
and Jimmy G. Mason and Luis M. Terrazas
A MEMORIAL
DECLARING FEBRUARY 2, 2023 "GUADALUPE HIDALGO TREATY DAY" AT THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, RECOGNIZING THE TWENTY-SIXTH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF GUADALUPE HIDALGO TREATY DAY AND COMMEMORATING THE ONE-HUNDRED-SEVENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SIGNING OF THE TREATY OF GUADALUPE HIDALGO BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE REPUBLIC OF MEXICO.
WHEREAS, on February 2, 1848, the United States and the Republic of Mexico signed the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits and Settlement, known as the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, at the main altar of the old cathedral of Guadalupe at the Villa Hidalgo to end the war between the two nations; and
WHEREAS, the lands relinquished or ceded by Mexico, totaling over seven hundred ninety thousand square miles, now constitute all or parts of eight states in the American west, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah and Wyoming; and
WHEREAS, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo included provisions for the protection of established property rights, including community land grants, within the transferred areas; and
WHEREAS, Spanish and Mexican community land grants and Native American pueblo communities throughout New Mexico have relied on the provisions of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo to protect their current remaining common lands and as the basis to pursue a just recovery of their traditional, former common lands; and
WHEREAS, on February 2, 1998, community land grant heirs and advocates from around the state came together at the state capitol to celebrate the first-ever Guadalupe Hidalgo treaty day; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 12-5-10 NMSA 1978, the second of February is set apart each year and known as "Guadalupe Hidalgo treaty day" in New Mexico; and
WHEREAS, February 2, 2023 marks one hundred seventy-five years since the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo; and
WHEREAS, over generations, New Mexico's land grant communities have experienced phenomenal changes in government, culture and economy, and their resilience is demonstrated by their growing vitality as political subdivisions of the state;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that February 2, 2023 be recognized as the twenty-sixth annual commemoration of Guadalupe Hidalgo treaty day; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that state and federal legislative support for all Spanish and Mexican community land grants and Native American pueblos should continue far into the future.
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