0001| SENATE MEMORIAL 23 | 0002| 43RD LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 1998 | 0003| INTRODUCED BY | 0004| MARY JANE M. GARCIA | 0005| | 0006| | 0007| | 0008| | 0009| | 0010| A MEMORIAL | 0011| COMMEMORATING THE FOUR-HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST | 0012| GOVERNMENT-TO-GOVERNMENT DISCUSSIONS BETWEEN THE ALL INDIAN | 0013| PUEBLO COUNCIL AND NONINDIAN GOVERNMENTAL REPRESENTATIVES. | 0014| | 0015| WHEREAS, today the all Indian pueblo council is comprised | 0016| of the pueblos of Acoma, Cochiti, Isleta, Jemez, Laguna, | 0017| Nambe, Picuris, Pojoaque, San Felipe, San Ildefonso, San Juan, | 0018| Sandia, Santa Ana, Santa Clara, Santo Domingo, Taos, Tesuque, | 0019| Zia and Zuni; and | 0020| WHEREAS, oral histories teach us that the all Indian | 0021| pueblo council existed as long ago as six hundred years before | 0022| Spanish explorers made contact with the ancestors of present- | 0023| day pueblo people; and | 0024| WHEREAS, recorded history first records the convening of | 0025| the council on July 7, 1598 when the Spaniard Juan de Onate | - 1 - 0001| met with thirty-eight pueblo leaders of the many pueblos that | 0002| comprised the all Indian pueblo council at Khe-wa, later | 0003| referred to as the pueblo of Santo Domingo, to request | 0004| permission of the leaders of the pueblo nations to settle in | 0005| their territories; and | 0006| WHEREAS, the modern-day operations of the all Indian | 0007| pueblo council were set in motion on November 5, 1922 at the | 0008| pueblo of Santo Domingo when the council was organized in a | 0009| manner recognized by nonpuebloans, with a mission statement | 0010| for the council and an elected chairman became the official | 0011| spokesman of the pueblos; and | 0012| WHEREAS, the all Indian pueblo council was at one time | 0013| outlawed and declared unauthorized by the Indian service, now | 0014| known as the federal bureau of Indian affairs, and repeated | 0015| attempts have been made throughout the history of that council | 0016| to undermine its strength and importance; and | 0017| WHEREAS, the sovereign members of the all Indian pueblo | 0018| council have continuously recommitted themselves with | 0019| devotion, throughout the history of that council, to interact | 0020| with one another in a harmonious manner, to encourage and | 0021| support one another in times of need and to go forth on common | 0022| issues in a unified manner and to pursue a policy of | 0023| continuing government-to-government communications with the | 0024| state and other nonIndian governments; and | 0025| WHEREAS, the nineteen pueblo sovereigns further clarified | - 2 - 0001| the authority of the all Indian pueblo council on October 16, | 0002| 1965 when their governors unanimously approved the all Indian | 0003| pueblo council constitution; and | 0004| WHEREAS, because the pueblo people have followed the | 0005| spiritual and traditional teachings of their ancestors, they | 0006| have survived a multitude of governmental policies designed to | 0007| destroy their traditional religions, lifestyles and | 0008| governments; and | 0009| WHEREAS, the unification policy and actions of the all | 0010| Indian pueblo council have also been instrumental in the | 0011| protection and preservation of pueblo lives, traditions and | 0012| cultures; and | 0013| WHEREAS, the all Indian pueblo council is a traditional | 0014| Indian organization whose heart and soul has been given life | 0015| by the pueblo peoples' ancestors through their spiritual | 0016| processes; and | 0017| WHEREAS, July 7, 1998 marks the four-hundredth | 0018| anniversary of the all Indian pueblo council since it first | 0019| appeared in the journals of those who accompanied Don Juan de | 0020| Onate and his group of nonIndian settlers and the four- | 0021| hundredth anniversary of the first government-to-government | 0022| communications between pueblo leaders and nonIndian government | 0023| representatives; and | 0024| WHEREAS, the celebration and official commemoration of | 0025| this four-hundredth anniversary is an important moment in the | - 3 - 0001| history of the pueblo nations, the state of New Mexico, the | 0002| United States of America and the world; and | 0003| WHEREAS, commemoration of the four-hundredth anniversary | 0004| of the first government-to-government meeting of the leaders | 0005| of the pueblos and leaders of the nonIndian settlers seeking a | 0006| home in New Mexico should include an assessment of how | 0007| government-to-government interactions can be made more | 0008| effective and should establish a process that can be used to | 0009| ease tensions and resolve issues that arise between the pueblo | 0010| sovereigns and the state; and | 0011| WHEREAS, the statement of policies and procedures adopted | 0012| on July 8, 1996, was a good beginning to reassessment of the | 0013| manner in which government-to-government discussions should | 0014| proceed, it is clear that many state agencies and some | 0015| legislators would be more comfortable if the process to | 0016| implement the policies were more clearly defined; and | 0017| WHEREAS, the history of the all Indian pueblo council in | 0018| promoting and pursuing government-to-government interactions | 0019| with nonIndian government representatives indicates the | 0020| perseverance of the all Indian pueblo council as it has sought | 0021| throughout the last four hundred years to maintain and improve | 0022| government-to-government interactions between the pueblos and | 0023| the state and the all Indian pueblo council encourages | 0024| development of a process that the state and tribes of New | 0025| Mexico can implement to ensure improved and effective | - 4 - 0001| government-to-government communications in the future; | 0002| NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE | 0003| OF NEW MEXICO that the all Indian pueblo council be recognized | 0004| and honored on the four-hundredth anniversary of the first | 0005| government-to-government meeting between the leaders of | 0006| twenty-six pueblo nations and Don Juan de Onate and his group | 0007| of settlers; and | 0008| BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the senate acknowledge and | 0009| honor the consortium of pueblo governments that existed at | 0010| least two hundred years prior to the pueblos' first contacts | 0011| with Europeans; and | 0012| BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the senate encourage and | 0013| support the efforts of the all Indian pueblo council to | 0014| continue its four-hundred-year tradition of advocating for the | 0015| traditions, cultures and governments of the pueblo nations and | 0016| participating in government-to-government discussions with the | 0017| state; and | 0018| BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the senate encourage the all | 0019| Indian pueblo council to engage in government-to-government | 0020| discussions with other tribes and the state to develop a | 0021| process to implement the statement of principles and policies | 0022| adopted on July 8, 1996; and | 0023| BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the governor be requested to | 0024| issue a proclamation designating July 7, 1998 as "Government- | 0025| to-Government Communications Day"; and | - 5 - 0001| BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be | 0002| transmitted to the governors of the nineteen member pueblos of | 0003| the all Indian pueblo council, the chairman of the all Indian | 0004| pueblo council, the governor of the state, the New Mexico | 0005| state cabinet secretaries, the president of the United States | 0006| and the director of the division on indigenous people's rights | 0007| at the United Nations. | 0008|  |