HOUSE MEMORIAL 70

54th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2019

INTRODUCED BY

Anthony Allison

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, THE CULTURAL AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT AND THE INDIAN AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT TO WORK WITH PUEBLOS, NATIONS AND TRIBES OF NEW MEXICO TO ENHANCE THE PROTECTION OF PUEBLO, NAVAJO, APACHE AND INTERTRIBAL DANCES AND SONGS AS PROTECTED STATE CULTURAL RESOURCES.

     WHEREAS, New Mexico will safeguard Pueblo, Navajo, Apache and intertribal native dances and songs as protected state cultural resources; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico officially acknowledges Pueblo, Navajo and Apache tribal nations and other Native American groups as legitimate heirs, owners and originators of their unique cultural and spiritual traditions of dances and songs that constitute the original dances and songs of New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico acknowledges the historical, cultural and regional distinctiveness of the customs, practices and religious obligations of the Pueblo, Navajo and Apache people and other tribal groups pursuant to their unique dances and songs; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico acknowledges that native dances and songs are culturally and spiritually crucial elements to the core identities of Pueblo, Navajo and Apache people and other Native American groups; and

     WHEREAS, native dances and songs embody who and what native people are, and this reverence creates a collective bond among Pueblo, Navajo, Apache and other Native American people; and

     WHEREAS, native dances and songs do not belong to any one individual but are considered divinely ordained inheritances to all who are legitimately affiliated with their pueblo, nation or tribe; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico acknowledges that significant Native American cultural events take place on state-operated properties, as well as pueblo and tribal lands, attracting visitors worldwide who bring significant tourist revenue and gross receipts taxes to the state; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico acknowledges pueblo and tribal performers who share their unique cultural identities through traditional, intertribal and contemporary dances and songs, and Native American dance groups and individuals are hired by and receive stipends from various state-operated departments; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico acknowledges that persons granted permission to take images and make recordings of traditional and intertribal dances and songs do not have the right to attempt to replicate, reenact or benefit from them, and such misuse will be deemed exploitative and a misappropriation of state cultural resources; and

     WHEREAS, the tourism department uses traditional and intertribal dance images to promote New Mexico as a major tourist destination, and these images must include an intellectual property clause recognizing native dances and songs as state cultural resources; and

     WHEREAS, this notice is required to be visible in all state brochures, vacation guides, websites, billboards, banners and other media of tourist promotion, as well as in state-operated visitor and cultural centers; and

     WHEREAS, native songs use native languages and are protected by the federal Native American Languages Act of 1990; and

     WHEREAS, Pueblo, Navajo, Apache and intertribal songs use native languages and are essential to native dances; and

     WHEREAS, the federal Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 protects Native American arts and crafts that are part of actual pueblo and tribal dances and songs and arts and crafts that are worn, displayed and handled and that are required to complete authentic dances and songs indigenous to the Pueblo, Navajo and Apache people and Native American groups; and

     WHEREAS, the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act refers to the protection of significant cultural and spiritual items; and

     WHEREAS, Pueblo, Navajo and Apache people and Native American groups use protected items to complete native dances and songs; and

     WHEREAS, the federal Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act allows enrolled Pueblo, Navajo and Apache people and other Native American groups to use eagle feathers and parts of other federally protected birds and animals in native dances and songs; and

     WHEREAS, native spiritual practitioners, healers and society leaders use these federally protected items and pass them down through biological lineage and tribal affiliation; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico acknowledges restrictions on illegal sketching or audio or visual recording of ceremonial dance observances held on pueblo or tribal lands; and

     WHEREAS, individuals or groups who falsely claim tribal enrollment or the right to perform sacred, traditional or intertribal dances and songs unique to New Mexico will be deemed as undertaking an act of exploitation and cultural misappropriation; and

     WHEREAS, the office of the attorney general, the cultural affairs department and the Indian affairs department are requested to work collectively with pueblos, nations and tribes to create legal mechanisms that penalize and prosecute those who engage in this activity; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico acknowledges exceptional situations whereby individuals who have legitimate native ancestry but are not tribally enrolled may possess legal familial ties with enrolled pueblo or tribal members; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico recognizes non-enrollment of pueblo and tribal descendants for reasons of adoption, abduction and cultural disruptions, such as boarding schools, relocation, addiction and historic trauma, and, in such situations, the state defers to the sovereignty of tribal governments to determine the eligibility of individual participation in pueblo and tribal dances;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the office of the attorney general, the cultural affairs department and the Indian affairs department be requested to collaborate with pueblos, nations and tribes in the creation of legal mechanisms that further strengthen, protect and preserve the sanctity of actual Pueblo, Navajo, Apache and intertribal dances and songs; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that these legal mechanisms effectively penalize and prosecute individuals, groups, organizations and hobbyists that exploit, misappropriate, commercialize or wrongfully mislead the portrayal of actual pueblo, tribal and intertribal dances and songs of New Mexico; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of cultural affairs, the secretary of Indian affairs, the governor, the office of the attorney general, the New Mexico congressional delegation, the all pueblo council of governors, the Navajo Nation, the Jicarilla Apache Nation, the Mescalero Apache Tribe, the Fort Sill Apache Tribe, the boy scouts of America and the Philmont scout ranch.

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