Blue Lake: Taos Pueblo celebrates sacred site
A.I.O. Award denotes tribe’s perseverance

By Andy Dennison
The Taos News
‘We were told by a congressman that Blue Lake would be a precedent, and now every Indian in the country would be knocking on our doors, wanting their land back.
To that I said, Why not?’
James Lujan David Gomez Sr. remem­bers camping at Blue Lake in the 1960s, and a group of non­Indians showed up to fish and hunt.
“I went to an elder and asked him why were they there, in our sacred place,” Gomez recalled. “He said, ‘It’s not ours.’” Gomez’ story was one of many related Thursday (Aug. 14) to highlight the tribe’s land­mark fight to reclaim Blue Lake and to receive an international award for its example of perse­verance.
With appropriate timing, the presentation of the Taos Blue Lake Spirit of Indigineity Award to Taos Pueblo comes just as the tribe is heading up for the annual pilgrimage to its most sacred site.
“Our Blue Lake ceremo­nies are soon,” Gomez, a Taos Pueblo elder, told a gather­ing of Indian activists, Pueblo luminaries and guests. “It’s a spiritual time for us. Everyone’s minds are on Blue Lake.”
American Indian activist LaDonna Harris gave the award toPuebloofficialsforAmericans for Indian Opportunity during a two-hour ceremony in the central plaza. Harris presented a sculpture by Santa Fe artist Bob Haozous that will become the permanent representation of the award.
“When I thought about what to create, I thought of how our heaven is a happy place,” said Haozous. “Why go to church when all you have to do is take a walk.”
Haozous’ bronze, cylindrical sculpture moves from the uni­verse to the skies to the trees and red willows, and finally to the earth, he said.
“That sense of relationship is what I looked for,” he said.
The award is given for “using core cultural values to facilitate positive change,” according to the group’s director, Laura Harris.
Members of the board of Americans for Indian Opportunity noted that Taos Pueblo’s 60-year “struggle” to wrest Blue Lake and neighbor­ing Bear Lake from the U.S. government set an example for all tribes who are fighting to get aboriginal lands back.
“We are going through our own settlement push and trea­ty claims,” said Bentham Ohia, a Maori from New Zealand, whose tribe received the award in 2006. “You are an example for many indigenous people across the world.”
Tribal council member James Lujan put it this way: “We were told by a congress­man that Blue Lake would be a precedent, and now every Indian in the country would be knocking on our doors, want­ing their land back.
“To that I said, Why not?”
Pueblo leaders also recalled the struggle and the day in December 1970 when legisla­tion finally passed that returned the lands to the tribe.
“It was during our quiet time,” said Lt. Gov. Thomas J. Lujan Jr. “We didn’t celebrate, we just thanked God.”
Performances during the ceremony included a Friendship Circle and the Flag Song, a quasi-national anthem written during the struggle for Blue Lake.
Editor’s Note: See related story in this week’s Tempo.

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