The Las Cruces City Council unanimously voted to honor the local indigenous peoples through a land recognition resolution.
November marks the start of Native American Heritage Month, and Las Cruces City Council is taking steps to honor local indigenous peoples. In a unanimous vote, the council approved a resolution on the recognition of land in support of indigenous peoples.
Urban policy analyst Sergio Ruiz says the resolution aims to recognize the ancestral and spiritual homeland of local tribal communities.
“The city of Las Cruces is on land that will forever belong to the Manso and Piro Manso Tiwa communities,” said Ruiz. “The city of Las Cruces was cared for by these indigenous peoples who are the original historical and eternal administrators of this land. Because they are the ancestors of this land, the current Piro Manso Tiwa are the ancestors of Las Cruces. “
Diego Medina, artist and cultural advisor at the Indian Arts Research Center, says the resolution is long overdue and an important recognition of both the history and cultural ethnic groups of the Mesilla Valley.
“The focus on the ethnic groups that are indigenous to this region is very important to me … all ethnic tribal groups recognized in this country recognition formed the foundation of our communities in this region,” said Medina.
Councilor Johana Bencomo says the resolution is a good start, but stresses that the city needs to do more to honor indigenous indigenous peoples. She shared her desire to remove selected street names with problematic roots, using the example of Squaw Mountain Drive.
“We have a street in town that uses an incredibly derogatory term, which is ethnic and sexual slander against indigenous women,” said Bencomo. “I was told that for us to change a street name it would have to come from local residents and there would have to be a petition and it could be expensive and it may be true. But I think because we know it’s derogatory, because we know it’s offensive, and because we know it’s on our streets, we can take the initiative and change it ourselves. “
Bencomo says some critics may argue that the city should give priority to other projects, but is confident the name change will not affect other city initiatives.
“I can hear the naysayers saying there are more important things to do, but I think we can all go and chew gum at the same time,” said Bencomo. “And just because you don’t care doesn’t mean it isn’t important. And so I really just wanted to bring up the topic that has been bothering me since the day I saw that street name. And I think if we do something like this, a resolution like this, we have to support it. “
Other councilors cited additional urban projects to highlight indigenous peoples, including the need for a plaque on the town hall and the construction of a new community center. City Councilor Tessa Abeyta-Stuve says it is important to identify action steps so that the forward momentum continues.
“We have our Visit Las Cruces page and I just brought it up here and we have no tribute recognition,” Abeyta-Stuve said. “So there are a few different things I think we can add and make sure we give a complete representation [that’s] exactly when we move forward. “
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