Fifty years ago on December 15, President Richard Nixon signed federal legislation restoring their sacred Blue Lake to Taos Pueblo.
The lake sits in woods on the mountain that backs the pueblo. It has been used for thousands of years by the men of the pueblo to hunt deer for food and perform seasonal religious rituals. The battle was to reclaim it from the feds.
A unique coterie of supporters had worked for decades for the return of the lake. They included transplanted easterners like Mabel Dodge Luhan, who was married to Tony Luhan of the Taos pueblo, and government officials such as Interior Secretary Stewart Udall (whose position we all hope will be filled by the first Native woman to serve in the U.S. cabinet, Laguna Pueblo congresswoman, Deb Haaland).
Paul Bernal, a Navy veteran and Taos pueblo inhabitant, served as translator at the signing, interpreting the Tiwa language of the pueblo for the gathering. The flag song, written to celebrate the occasion, is played every year to celebrate this anniversary, postponed this year due to the coronavirus.
The pueblo governor’s office instead issued a letter of thanks to many supporters: “Taos pueblo, with its whole heart, appreciates the support, the leadership, the prayers, the contributions and the sacrifices that brought Blue Lake back to our people.”
Cooperation to restore rights, to serve justice, and to recognize the sacred. That’s what I hope for when our new administration takes over in January.
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