IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1634 

Congratulating Taos Pueblo, its leaders and its people, on the 40th 

Anniversary of the return of their sacred Blue Lake lands. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010 

Mr. LUJA ́N submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

RESOLUTION 

Congratulating Taos Pueblo, its leaders and its people, on 

the 40th Anniversary of the return of their sacred Blue 

Lake lands. 

Whereas Taos Pueblo Indians have occupied their present 

homeland in northern New Mexico since time immemorial, and their central village there is the oldest continuously inhabited structure in North America; 

Whereas Spanish rule was established over the Taos Pueblo 

territory in 1598 under laws recognizing Indian 

possessory rights; Mexico occupied and assumed sovereignty over the territory in 1821, confirming Indian 

possessory rights; and, in 1848, sovereignty over the territory passed to the United States under the Treaty of 

Guadalupe Hidalgo, which guaranteed protection of all 

property rights recognized by Spanish and Mexican law; 


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•HRES 1634 IH 

Whereas, nevertheless, in 1906, illegally and without the consent of Taos Pueblo, the United States Government appropriated the Pueblo’s sacred Blue Lake lands and 

made them a part of Carson National Forest, a serious 

threat to and interference with the free and unmolested 

practice of their religion by the people of Taos Pueblo; 

Whereas Taos Pueblo began at once after this illegal taking 

a long and courageous and, at the time, seemingly hopeless struggle to regain title to these lands, sacred to them 

and an integral part of their cultural and religious life; 

Whereas, in 1965, the United States Indian Claims Commission affirmed that the United States Government had unjustly taken Taos Pueblo’s Blue Lake lands and preparations were made to compensate the Pueblo in money for 

the illegal taking, a move which the Pueblo rejected, still 

demanding, instead, a return of the lands themselves; 

Whereas because of the steadfast efforts of the Taos Pueblo 

leaders and people through the years, their unanswerable 

moral and religious arguments, and their principled refusal to accept nothing short of return of the Blue Lake 

lands, more and more American organizations and leaders, public and private, began to join in the Blue Lake 

cause and to take to heart the words of the great old Cacique of Taos Pueblo at the time, the late Juan de Jesus 

Romeo: ‘‘Our Blue Lake wilderness keeps our water holy 

and by this water we are baptized . . . If our land is not 

returned to us, if it is turned over to the government for 

their use, then it is the end of Indian life. Our people will 

scatter as the people of other nations have scattered. It 

is our religion that holds us together’’; and 

Whereas almost unbelievably and against all odds, because of 

their own unyielding fight and because their cause was 


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•HRES 1634 IH 

just, the people of Taos Pueblo finally won out, and legislation returning 48,000 acres of their sacred Blue Lake 

lands to them cleared its last congressional hurdle and 

passed the Senate in December 1970 and, the same 

month, was signed into law by the President of the 

United States, who said at the time: ‘‘This bill indicates 

a new direction in Indian affairs in this country . . . in 

which there will be more of an attitude of cooperation 

rather than paternalism, one of self-determination rather 

than termination, one of mutual respect’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) congratulates Taos Pueblo, its leaders, and 

3 its people, on the 40th Anniversary of the return of 

4 their sacred Blue Lake lands; 

5 (2) recognizes the long and courageous struggle 

6 of the Taos Pueblo leaders and people through the 

7 years that brought about this ultimate and greatly 

8 important success; and 

9 (3) encourages the observation of this anniver10 sary, so important to Taos Pueblo as well as to all 

11 American Indians and tribes, with appropriate cere12 monies and activities. 

Æ 


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