SENATE MEMORIAL 46

56th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2023

INTRODUCED BY

Cliff R. Pirtle

A MEMORIAL

RECOGNIZING THE ONE-HUNDRED-FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MESCALERO APACHE INDIAN RESERVATION.

     WHEREAS, the Mescalero Apache Indian reservation was established by President Ulysses S. Grant on May 27, 1883, by executive order; and

     WHEREAS, the original boundaries of the Mescalero Apache Indian reservation spanned as far north as Fort Stanton, and the current reservation is more than seven hundred nineteen square miles, or four hundred sixty-three thousand acres; and

     WHEREAS, sierra blanca, or white mountain, sacred to the Apache people, is located partially on the Mescalero Apache Indian reservation; and

     WHEREAS, the Mescalero Apache Tribe represents the Mescalero, Lipan and Chiricahua Apache bands of Apache; and

     WHEREAS, the Mescalero Apache people have called the lands of New Mexico their home since time immemorial; and

     WHEREAS, the Lipan Apache were forced from their homelands in Texas and northern Mexico and held as prisoners of war until 1905 when they joined the Mescalero Apache on the Mescalero Apache Indian reservation; and

     WHEREAS, in 1913, the Chiricahua Apache were released as prisoners of war from the Fort Sill military reservation near Lawton, Oklahoma, and the vast majority of the Chiricahua Apache chose to make their homes on the Mescalero Apache Indian reservation where they were welcomed wholeheartedly by the Mescalero Apache; and

     WHEREAS, since the establishment of the Mescalaro Apache Indian reservation, the Mescalero Apache Tribe has been at the forefront of the fight for tribal sovereignty at the state and national levels and to preserve its culture, language and connection to its homelands throughout southern New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, the Mescalero Apache Indian reservation is mountainous and heavily wooded, and the Mescalero Apache Tribe is well-known for its sustainable forestry management, public campgrounds and big game hunting program; and

     WHEREAS, the Mescalero Apache Tribe is proud to share the natural beauty of the Mescalero Apache Indian reservation with guests and patrons from New Mexico, Texas, Arizona and many other places at the tribe's resort and casino, the inn of the mountain gods; and

     WHEREAS, the Mescalero Apache Tribe is proud to call the Mescalero Apache Indian reservation its home;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the one-hundred-fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the Mescalero Apache Indian reservation be recognized and celebrated by the senate and throughout New Mexico; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to the Mescalero Apache tribal government tribal council.

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