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Chairlift construction resisted by native Indian tribes in New Mexico
 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead

Two native Indian tribes have taken to law to prevent the construction of a chairlift at the New Mexican ski resort of Santa Fe.

The Tesuque Pueblo, believed to date from before 1200 AD, says that the new lift will help skiers access the tribe’s holiest shrines and locations, where members conduct rituals and ceremonies necessary for the pueblo’s survival. Their lawsuit says that skiers’ "presence in the area increases the risk that important shrines will be tampered with or destroyed."

A second tribe - the Nambé Pueblo - has requested an intervention in the lawsuit, arguing that the Tesuque cannot represent its interests. Its request argues that the chairlift will force it "to choose between holding ceremonies in public view in violation of religious requirements or not participating in mandatory religious ceremonies."

There is a precedent of Santa Fe's expansion being successfully resisted by the Tesuque Pueblo. In this case, though, they face a tougher fight since the chairlift is already under construction, having received permission from the US Forest Service.

This report from Free New Mexican. [see readers' comments below article]

Website of the Tesuque Pueblo.
Website of the Nambé Pueblo.

Any comments on the issues raised here?
latest report
latest report
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person

With it being such an arid climate round these parts, water has always been precious. For that reason, water has a high significance in the religions of the Indian pueblos. The sources of the water, high in the mountains above the valleys where the actual pueblos are located, are viewed as sacred places. Taos Pueblo was fortunate enough to be given the land that encompasses its sacred source, "Blue Lake", by the federal government in 1970. (More background here: http://www.taospueblo.com/about.php ) When you visit Taos Pueblo, visitors are asked not to paddle their feet in the river which runs through the village, for that reason.
But most other pueblos, including the two mentioned above, are not so lucky and the sources of their rivers lie in the US Forest owned land in the mountains above Santa Fe.
Having said that, I don't think this new lift will actually access ski runs which cross the sacred areas. But it will bring people closer to them.
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