SENATE MEMORIAL 62

50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2012

INTRODUCED BY

George K. Munoz

A MEMORIAL

RECOGNIZING THE GALLUP INTER-TRIBAL INDIAN CEREMONIAL'S LONG-STANDING AND SIGNIFICANT PROMOTION OF NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITY, PRIDE, TRADITION, TALENT, CULTURE AND ART.

     WHEREAS, the Gallup inter-tribal Indian ceremonial is a five-day event held each August to celebrate Native American heritage and exhibit the cultures, dances, traditions, foods, artistic talents and athletic abilities of Native Americans; and

     WHEREAS, the Gallup inter-tribal Indian ceremonial started in 1922, when members of the Navajo Nation, the Pueblo of Zuni and other pueblos marched through downtown Gallup in ceremonial celebration; and

     WHEREAS, the Gallup inter-tribal Indian ceremonial continues to feature parades, including a ceremonial parade that pays tribute to the Navajo Long Walk, in which thousands of Navajo men, women and children during the mid-1800s were forced to relocate, by foot, from their ancestral lands in what is now eastern Arizona and western New Mexico to Fort Sumner in eastern New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, the Gallup inter-tribal Indian ceremonial presents an opportunity for numerous tribes from the United States and Mexico, including Navajo, Apache, Choctaw, Zuni, Hopi, Comanche, Aztec and Totonac peoples, among others, to participate together in festivities and to celebrate their cultures; and

     WHEREAS, the Gallup inter-tribal Indian ceremonial is singular in bringing together so many different Native American cultures that share their dances and traditions at one event; and

     WHEREAS, Gallup inter-tribal Indian ceremonial participants include Native American dancers, musicians, royalty and horseback riders; and  

     WHEREAS, Gallup inter-tribal Indian ceremonial participants have also included Navajo code talkers who fought for the United States in World War II; and

     WHEREAS, the Gallup inter-tribal Indian ceremonial features a rodeo and a three-day competition in which Native American women residing within a three-hundred-mile radius of Gallup compete for the title of "Miss Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial"; and

     WHEREAS, the Gallup inter-tribal Indian ceremonial dances are breathtaking displays of color, spirit and talent and are performed at the dramatically beautiful Red Rocks amphitheater; and

     WHEREAS, the indoor-outdoor marketplace at the Gallup inter-tribal Indian ceremonial exhibits some of the finest traditional and contemporary art by Native American artisans; and

     WHEREAS, the Gallup inter-tribal Indian ceremonial is recognized worldwide as an important tradition and attended by people from many regions of the world; and

     WHEREAS, the people of Gallup, New Mexico, are proud to present the Gallup inter-tribal Indian ceremonial each year;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the Gallup inter-tribal Indian ceremonial be recognized for its contributions to Native American community, pride, tradition, talent, culture and art; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the director of the Gallup inter-tribal Indian ceremonial and the mayor of Gallup.

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