SENATE MEMORIAL 1

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009

INTRODUCED BY

Phil A. Griego

A MEMORIAL

DECLARING JANUARY 21, 2009 "SANTA FE FOUR HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY DAY" AT THE SENATE AND COMMEMORATING THE MORE THAN FOUR-HUNDRED-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE SETTLEMENT AND FOUNDING OF LA VILLA REAL DE LA SANTA FE DE SAN FRANCISCO DE ASIS, 1607-1610.

     WHEREAS, before 1598, the pueblo people of the Rio Grande region of New Mexico had inhabited the area now officially known as La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asis, commonly called Santa Fe, for hundreds of years; and

     WHEREAS, from the first arrival of New Mexico's Spanish colonists in August of 1598, the pueblo people of the Rio Grande and adjoining regions of New Mexico provided support and sustenance to those colonists, which allowed the colonists to persevere at San Gabriel del Yunque, the first villa and capital of New Mexico located in the pueblo lands of Ohkay Owingeh, as well as at other small outlying settlements; and

     WHEREAS, from the time of 1607, there existed a small settlement of Spanish colonists in that same area; and

     WHEREAS, on March 30, 1609, the viceroy of New Spain, Martin Lopez de Gauna, upon the appointment of Don Pedro de Peralta as governor and captain general of New Mexico, ordered Governor Peralta to arrive in New Mexico before the end of 1609 and to establish a villa at the site of what is now Santa Fe; and

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

WHEREAS, the pueblo people of New Mexico became part of the extended community of the Spanish colonists, providing a pool for intermarriage and becoming a source, both willingly and unwillingly, of labor and economic support for the colonists; 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 in what was then southern New Mexico; and

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

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

WHEREAS, over the following years into the twentieth century and 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, and the pueblo people and other surrounding Native American tribes formed alliances and accommodated each other's cultures, allowing Santa Fe to flourish; and

WHEREAS, the peaceful acceptance of each other's cultures continued through the United States' conquest of New Mexico during the war with Mexico and contributed to the evolution of Santa Fe's cultural heritage, and it resulted in the recognition by the state and federal governments of the sovereignty rights of the pueblo people, including their rights to self-government; and

WHEREAS, during the period of 2008 through 2010, Santa Fe will proudly observe the four-hundred-year anniversary of its settlement and subsequent founding 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 Indian-Hispanic 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 and surrounding Native American tribes 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 January 21, 2009 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 citizens 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.

- 5 -