The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals sent a three-judge panel to Albuquerque on May 20th to hear Jemez Pueblo’s latest appeal to be granted title to some, or all of the Valles Caldera National Preserve. (The judges were hearing other cases as well). The hearing at UNM Law School was heavily attended. This was a continuation of a court case first brought by Jemez Pueblo in 2015 which asked the courts to establish Jemez Pueblo’s aboriginal title to the Valles Caldera.
This case had been decided by Federal District Court then appealed to the 10 Circuit Court of Appeals. Various hearings have been held over the years by both courts, some closed to the public due to culturally sensitive information.
Basically, Jemez Pueblo argues that they were the exclusive Native users of the Valles Caldera before the arrival of Spanish colonizers and later the American government and the land grant and private property that followed. If they can establish that they exclusively used what is now the Valles Caldera National Preserve, they can claim “aboriginal title” to the land. The problem is, other tribes dispute their exclusive use in the past and say they too used the area.
Recently, Jemez Pueblo and their attorneys seem to have abandoned their claim to the entire VCNP and now argue that they were exclusive users of the Banco Bonito (southwest corner of the Preserve) and some of the volcanic domes such as Redondo Peak which the lawyers referred to as Paramount Shrine Lands. This recent hearing apparently focused on those limited areas rather than the entire Preserve.
Now we await a decision from the 10 Circuit Court. We note that Pueblo owned lands in New Mexico are closed to the public except specific tourist sites like Taos Pueblo or fishing lakes.
