Now we don t have to hide when we go up into the mountains, Gilbert Suazo said in a recent interview. Now, we can freely go where we want to go on our lands and not have to worry about getting arrested or prosecuted.
Suazo, a Taos Pueblo councilman and former tribal governor, said the joy of being able to practice his Native religion unencumbered by outside control was indescribable. It was a spiritual burden finally lifted 50 years ago, when he and his fellow tribal members conducted their first ceremonials after President Richard Nixon signed legislation in Washington D.C., returning the Blue Lake watershed to the people of Taos Pueblo. It was an act that closed a circle which had burned in the hearts and minds of generations - many of whom started the journey to have the sacred lands returned and never saw its end.
Thatâs when the federal government returned the Blue Lake watershed to his tribe.
âNow we donât have to hide when we go up into the mountains,â said Suazo, a former Taos Pueblo governor. âNow, we can freely go where we want to go on our lands and not have to worry about getting arrested or prosecuted.â
Suazo and fellow tribal members conducted their first ceremonials in December 1970 after President Richard Nixon signed legislation returning Blue Lake to the people of Taos Pueblo.
However, many who started the 64-year journey to have the sacred lands returned never saw its end.