Land return
Return of Blue Lake to Taos Pueblo
Not yet reviewed by this nation. What follows comes from public records and research. It does not speak for the nation.
On December 15, 1970, Congress returned 48,000 acres, including Blue Lake, to Taos Pueblo through Public Law 91-550 after a decades-long effort.
- Nation
- Taos Pueblo (Tiwa)
- Where
- Taos, New Mexico
- Acres
- 48,000
- Began
- 1906
- Status
- Returned
Where the land is
The map marks only the general area, so this page does not say which recorded cession the land falls in.
Location from taospueblo.com.
What happened
Taos Pueblo's own page states that on December 15, 1970, President Richard Nixon signed Public Law 91-550, restoring Taos Pueblo lands. The Pueblo's page and Nixon's remarks agree on the number: 48,000 acres, which Nixon said were taken from the Taos Pueblo Indians in 1906. The Pueblo says the signing led to the unhindered continuation of its traditional culture and set a precedent for self-determination for all American Indian people.
The National Archives traces the path. In 1903 the Secretary of Agriculture asked for a forest reserve in New Mexico, and in 1906 President Theodore Roosevelt made the withdrawal permanent, making the land a national forest. The Commissioner of Indian Affairs and the local superintendent petitioned for its return in 1912 and 1918 and were rebuffed. A 1927 cooperative agreement and a 1940 permit gave limited protections but did not satisfy the Pueblo.
In 1965 the Indian Claims Commission ruled the Pueblo entitled to nearly $300,000 for the land. The Pueblo proposed waiving the award in exchange for the land around Blue Lake. The House passed transfer bills in 1966, 1967 and 1968; H.R. 471 passed the Senate 70 to 12 on December 2, 1970.
At the signing, Nixon said the bill represented justice rather than a gift, and respect for religion, and marked a new direction of self-determination rather than termination.
Good to know. The 48,000-acre figure is the Pueblo's and President Nixon's; the Pueblo's 1965 proposal referred to 50,000 acres around the lake.
Summarized with AI assistance from 4 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error
What the sources say, and how this was checked
Well supported by the sources below.
On December 15, 1970, former President Richard M. Nixon signed into affect Public Law 91-550
The Return of Blue Lake (Taos Pueblo)This is a bill that represents justice, because in 1906 an injustice was done in which land involved in this bill, 48,000 acres, was taken
Remarks on Signing Bill Restoring the Blue Lake Lands (Richard Nixon, Dec. 15, 1970)on December 2, 1970, H.R. 471 passed the U.S. Senate by a decisive 70–12 vote
Righting a Wrong: The Return of Blue Lake to the Taos Pueblo (National Archives)the ICC ruled that the Taos Pueblo were entitled to nearly $300,000 in compensation for the land.
Righting a Wrong: The Return of Blue Lake to the Taos Pueblo (National Archives)
Research notes. The Pueblo page and Nixon agree on 48,000 acres and the 1906 date; the National Archives says the Pueblo's 1965 proposal referred to 50,000 acres of land around the lake. The atlas "start year" of 1906 matches the permanent withdrawal. The land is described only as the lake and surrounding mountain land; no further location is given.
Who is doing the work
Working with these nations
- Taos Pueblo Nation government Blue Lake return, 48,000 acres, Dec 15, 1970 (Pub. L. 91-550) Website
Land return and Native-led work nearby
- Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition Nation government Tribal co-management and protection of Bears Ears National Monument Give on their site Website
- Colorado Plateau Foundation Native-led Grants to Native-led organizations protecting Colorado Plateau lands, waters and cultures Give on their site Website
- Lakota People's Law Project (program of Sacred Defense Fund) Native-led Legal advocacy Give on their site Website
- Native Seeds/SEARCH Native-led Seed bank and seed return to Indigenous growers (Rematriation Seed Donations program) Give on their site Website
Native legal and land defense, nationally
- Native American Rights Fund (NARF) Native-led Litigation and legal advocacy for tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, land and resources Give on their site Website
- NDN Collective (LANDBACK Campaign) Native-led LANDBACK campaign (launched 2020; Mount Rushmore closure and return of Black Hills public lands), Indigenous… Give on their site Website
- Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF) Native-led Land recovery and control by tribes and individual Indian landowners Website
- Decolonizing Wealth Project (Indigenous Earth Fund; California Tribal Land Return) Native-led Reparative philanthropy Give on their site Website
Gifts go straight to each organization; this atlas takes nothing. Listing is not endorsement: how organizations are listed.
Connections
Links marked “suggested” were matched automatically by name or date and have not yet been reviewed by a person.
Nations named 1
- Taos Pueblosuggested
Located in 1
- New Mexicosuggested
Policy era 1
- Allotment and Assimilation1887suggested
Responds to 1
Supported by 1
Sources
- presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-signing-bill-restoring-the-blue-lake-lands-new-mexicreference work
- taospueblo.com/blue-lake/self-description
- Kind
- Land return
- Confidence
- High
- Nation review
- Not yet reviewed by this nation