Obituaries C-2 Police notes C-2 Neighbors C-5 Celebrations C-8 SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2010 THE NEW

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2010 THE NEW MEXICAN

LOCAL NEWS Lasting impact: Teen

remembered through
YouthWorks. Page C-5 C
Desfile de los Niños a chance for children, pets to play masquerade

President Richard M. Nixon meets with

tribal leaders in 1970, including Jim Mira-
bal, Taos Pueblo Tribal Council member;
Walter Hickle, secretary of the Interior;
Taos Pueblo Gov. Quirino Romero; and
Paul Bernal, Taos Pueblo Tribal Council
secretary. COURTESY PHOTO

TAOS PUEBLO

Nixon
crucial to
Blue Lake
recovery
Support 40 years ago helped
tribe regain sacred lands Cuca, an American Boxer, and his family won the prize for the best family entry at the annual Children’s Pet Parade on Saturday. Their cos-
tume was based on the movie Up. For more photos, go to santafenewmexican.com. PHOTOS BY JANE PHILLIPS/THE NEW MEXICAN
By Joan Livingston
The Taos News

Family revelry
TAOS — To many, President Richard M.
Nixon was Tricky Dick, one of the men who
oversaw an unpopular war in Vietnam and
quit office following the Watergate scandal.
But to many people at Taos Pueblo, Nixon
was a strong ally whose support 40 years ago
helped the tribe regain its sacred Blue Lake Niños, and also known as the Children’s
By Julie Ann Grimm
after a 64-year struggle. The New Mexican Pet Parade. Fiesta Council parade orga-
Not only was this the first time lands were

returned to a tribe because of their religious
significance, but the decision also is considered
a landmark ruling for Native American rights of
self-governance and self-determination.
“If you go to an All-Indian Pueblo Council
meeting today and you get up and say Presi-
dent Richard Nixon had the best Indian pol-
icy of any president in history, they’ll give you
a standing ovation,” said Republican David
Cargo, the former New Mexico governor who
assisted Taos Pueblo in regaining Blue Lake.
During the Theodore Roosevelt administra-
tion, the U.S. government seized ownership of
48,000 acres of tribal lands as part of the Car-
son National Forest. The land included Blue
Lake, site of the tribe’s annual pilgrimage and
some of its sacred ceremonies.
“In 1906, my people began a battle that
would last 64 years,” Gilbert Suazo Sr., a tribal
elder, said at the Taos Pueblo Powwow on
July 10. “Nobody knew how long it would last,
how complicated it would be.”
As the late Paul Bernal, longtime tribal
secretary, once said, not one person alone is
responsible for Blue Lake’s return. The effort,
which ended in 1970, took the persistence of
Taos Pueblo leaders (many of whom are now
deceased), other tribes and non-native friends.
Please see NIXON, Page C-2
INSIDE
u Taos Pueblo celebrates 40th anniversary of
regaining Blue Lake. PAGE C-2
Josh Trujillo and his daughter Araya, 3, won the Fiesta
theme category with their entry Zobrita.
PET PARADE WINNERS
Best Musical Group: Santa Fe High School
Best Original Entry: Carlos Gilbert Elementary School
Best Hysterical Theme: Barbies (Faith, Sydney and Grace Pino,
and Sylvia Davis)
Best Historical Theme: Don Lizardman
Best Fiesta Theme: Zobrita (Ravenna and Araya Trujillo, and
Krista Serrano)
Best Family Entry: Up (Deborah King, Mark Miller, Angelina
Miller, MC Miller, Asher Thibeault and Cuca)
The Santa Fe Fiesta Council provided each winning entry with a
check for $100.
T
he Santa Fe Fiesta seems to be one
of the themes of Joshua Trujillo’s
life.
Trujillo’s mother went into
labor in 1974 while she was running
to watch the burning of Zozobra. As a
young adult, he met the woman who
would become his wife while dancing in
front of the Plaza stage. Later, he hired
the band that was playing to perform at
their wedding.
Although he has lived away from the city
of his birth since 1994, Trujillo brings his
own family back to Santa Fe from his home
in Seattle annually for Fiesta. He’s only
missed one since the year he left town.
This year, his daughters Ravenna, 4,
and Araya, 3, and their cousin Krista
Serrano, 5, took one of the top honors
at Saturday’s children’s parade for their
entry called “Zobrita.” Clad in a hat with
pointed ears and a blue wig, Araya played
a small version of Old Man Gloom, while
the other girls were fire dancers.
“We’ve done the same thing three
times,” Trujillo said as he waited for the
girls to have their photo taken with the
Fiesta royal court. “When Araya was 2,
we had her in the Baby Björn (carrier)
and so many people cheered for us, we
had to do it again.”
About 120 groups participated in this
year’s parade, officially titled Desfile de los
nizer Yolanda Arrey said there were fewer
entries than previous years, but overall
more participants than in the last five years.
“What they are doing is they’re bun-
dling,” she said, noting that more than
3,000 children and adults walked, skated
or got pulled along the parade route.
One large group featured about 30 peo-
ple who work for La Posada de Santa Fe
and their children. That group used the
parade as an opportunity to spread mes-
sages on behalf of the Santa Fe Animal
Shelter and Humane Society, borrowing
15 dogs from the shelter that are available
for adoption.
“This is the first time the shelter ani-
mals have entered the parade, and we
really hope (the animals) are endearing
to someone who might want to adopt
them,” said Terry Lewis, La Posada
human resources director.
Lewis said that in addition to promot-
ing adoption and neutering, the shelter
also wants pet owners to consider the
importance of training animals early.
“There are a lot of dogs who, if not
trained at a young age, end up being
unmanageable and are surrendered to the
shelter,” she said.
Antonio Dominguez, 14, and Danny
Romero, 12, of La Cienega brought a pair
of goats to the parade for the first time
Please see PARADE, Page C-3

Early voting
stretches N.M.
election season
By Tim Korte
The Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE — Forget waiting to vote

on Election Day. That’s as yesterday as an 8-
track player.
Most New Mexico residents vote early, and
that means campaigns have been gearing up
for months to be ready.
Both parties have their eyes on the Nov.
2 general election, of course, but the more
immediate concerns are the Oct. 5 start of in-
person absentee voting across the state and
regular early voting sites that open Oct. 16.
Both options end Oct. 30.
Please see VOTING, Page C-3 From left, Sylvia Davis, 7, Faith Pino, 5, Sydney Pino, 7, and Grace Pino, 7, were awarded best hysterical entry for Barbies on Parade.

400 Facts Today’s question: Who was the only

on Santa Fe
Courtesy of the 400th
Anniversary Committee
woman in the labor force that restored
San Miguel Mission in 1710?
Check back tomorrow for the answer.
Yesterday’s question: What event begins at the Cathedral
Basilica and proceeds to the hilltop Cross of the Martyrs?
Answer: The candlelight procession of hundreds of people carrying lighted can-
dles concludes Fiesta de Santa Fe on Sunday evening.
To learn more about this topic, see www.santafenm.info/fiesta.htm.

Section editor: Howard Houghton, 986-3015, hhoughton@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Elizabeth Herrera Lauer, ehlauer@sfnewmexican.com BREAKING NEWS AT WWW.SANTAFENEWMEXICAN.COM