For centuries upon centuries, the people of the Pueblo of Sandia have lived in relationship with Sandia Mountain and the Rio Grande in what is now known as New Mexico. Even when our lives were at risk during incursions by Spanish, Mexican, and American governments, we cared for the lands and the waters. And we prayed for the health of our communities and the world around us all.
Sacred to our community since time immemorial, Sandia Mountain is our church, our protector and our source of well-being. It is also home to wildlife and important ecosystems, and a source of beauty and recreation for hundreds of thousands of people who live in and visit the Middle Rio Grande Valley.
Today, we ask lawmakers and members of the public to respect our culture, traditional knowledge and sovereignty — and to support our efforts to further protect Sandia Mountain, especially in today’s rapidly changing and unpredictable world.
Congress should transfer land within the T’uf Shur Bien Preservation Area from the U.S. Forest Service, within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, within the Department of the Interior.
We appreciate the work of local Forest Service employees who have done their best to protect this special area through changing political administrations. Yet we have all seen the litter and graffiti, deferred maintenance, broken fence lines, illegal trails, violations of occupancy rules and degradation by disrespectful people who care neither for the sacredness nor beauty of Sandia Mountain.
We have also witnessed the destruction of cultural sites and encroachment into sensitive areas. These are places the federal government agreed to protect when Congress passed the T’uf Shur Bien Preservation Trust Area Act in 2022.
That law was the result of decades of court cases and agreements based around attempts by the Pueblo to regain access to lands originally granted to the Pueblo by the King of Spain in 1748. It was later confirmed by the U.S. Congress in 1858 under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo when the Spanish grant, as confirmed by Congress, called for the eastern boundary of the Pueblo’s land to be set at the “main ridge” of the mountain. The 1859 survey – performed in only four days – arbitrarily meandered the foothills near the Pueblo rather than the main ridge of the Sandia Mountain area, a loss of approximately 10,000 acres from the Pueblo’s land grant.
The T’uf Shur Bien Act was an attempt to rectify the loss of about 10,000 acres from the Pueblo of Sandia’s original land grant which had extended to the ridgeline of Sandia Mountain. It allows tribal members “free and unrestricted access to the Area for traditional and cultural uses,” protects private landowners living within the claim area, defends in perpetuity the wilderness character of the area, and prevents logging, mining, and other development.
In requesting the transfer of lands from the USDA to the Interior Department, the Pueblo of Sandia held more than 75 meetings with lawmakers, neighbors, businesses, community members and others to explain why this move is important to the Pueblo.
As a sovereign nation, we have broken neither promises nor agreements. Yet, disinformation persists in the media and within some communities.
The Pueblo of Sandia is not denying access to landowners or responsible, respectful recreational users. When the land is transferred, all authorized existing uses or activities and existing public rights of way for roads and utility corridors will remain. Visitors can still enjoy the area. And the lands, waters and wildlife of Sandia Mountain will still be protected — today and for future generations.
By managing the T’uf Shur Bien Preservation Area, the Pueblo will be able to better protect its culture, traditions and way of life.
The Pueblo will also be able to better protect the mountain from future development, further degradation and even catastrophic wildfire. By offering local solutions, resources and strategies tailored to the unique cultural and physical landscape of this area, the Pueblo of Sandia can facilitate intergovernmental coordination efforts for emergency responses, public safety and law enforcement.
To retain its religious and traditional meaning to the Pueblo, Sandia Mountain must be preserved. Sandia Mountain must also be conserved and protected for the health of the Middle Rio Grande Valley and future generations. here is no one with a longer record of love and care for the mountain than those of us who have been here longest.
Stuart Paisano is Governor of the Pueblo of Sandia. The governor oversees day-to-day government operations of the Pueblo. He has over 21 years of experience in both the government and private sectors. Donald Avila is currently serving as Warchief of the Pueblo of Sandia. The Warchief and Lt. Warchief are responsible for all religious activities held in the Pueblo.
This article first appeared on High Country News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
