Violation
Taos Pueblo and Blue Lake: taken in 1906, returned in 1970
Not yet reviewed by this nation. What follows comes from public records and research. It does not speak for the nation.
Taos Pueblo's Blue Lake watershed became national forest in 1906; Congress returned about 48,000 acres in trust in December 1970.
- Treaty
- Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), Arts. VIII-IX (context)
- Nations
- Taos Pueblo (Red Willow People)
- When
- 1906-1970
- Land affected
- 48,000 acres, 1906-1970; Blue Lake and watershed.
- Acreage
- about 48,000 acres (+764 acres in 1996)
What happened
Taos Pueblo has long depended on the mountain watershed around Blue Lake. A National Archives account says that in 1906 President Theodore Roosevelt made a national forest withdrawal permanent, so the land, "and thus Blue Lake, were now a national forest." Nixon later put the amount taken at about 48,000 acres. Federal Indian Affairs officials asked for the land's return in 1912 and 1918 and were turned down.
Because the Pueblo Lands Board could only pay for taken land, the Pueblo and the government argued over money versus return. In 1965 the Indian Claims Commission ruled the Pueblo entitled to nearly $300,000, but the Pueblo proposed giving up that award in exchange for about 50,000 acres around Blue Lake. The government was reluctant to set that precedent.
Congress acted in 1970. The Senate passed H.R. 471 on December 2, 1970, by a vote of 70 to 12, and President Nixon signed it on December 15, 1970 (Public Law 91-550). The law declares the lands "held by the United States in trust for the Pueblo de Taos" and recites that the Pueblo depends on them for water, forage, wood and timber, and as the scene of certain religious ceremonials. Nixon said "in 1906 an injustice was done," and that Congress "returns that land to whom it belongs."
Good to know. This page records a return of land.
Summarized with AI assistance from 2 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.
and thus Blue Lake, were now a national forest
Righting a Wrong: The Return of Blue Lake to the Taos Pueblo (National Archives)upon which said Indians depend and have depended since time immemorial for water supply, forage for their domestic livestock
Public Law 91-550, 84 Stat. 1437 (govinfo)
Research notes. This entry records a return, not a continuing loss. The input said 'Congress returned 764 additional acres in 1996' (from Wikipedia); not verified here, left out. The treaty-of-Guadalupe-Hidalgo link is context only and was not examined. The statute text was read via PDF text extraction; the Public Law number is confirmed by that text. The 1906 mechanism is an executive withdrawal per the National Archives; one search snippet instead called it an act of Congress, so sources differ.
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
These links were matched automatically by name or date and have not yet been reviewed by a person.
Nations named 1
Located in 1
Policy era 1
Land returns that respond to this 1
Concerns the instrument 1
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Lake_(New_Mexico)pointer
- govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-9/pdf/STATUTE-9-Pg922.pdfprimary record
- taospueblo.com/about-taos-pueblo/blue-lake/self-description
- govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-84/pdf/STATUTE-84-Pg1437.pdfprimary record
The record’s fields
- What happened
- Taos Pueblo and Blue Lake: taken in 1906, returned in 1970 -- About 48,000 acres of Taos Pueblo's sacred mountain watershed were taken in 1906 and included in what became the Carson National Forest (the Taos Pueblo website gives 1906; Wikipedia says 'early 20th century'). The Pueblo sought return of the land, not compensation. Congress returned it in Public Law 91-550 (84 Stat. 1437), approved Dec. 15, 1970: the land is 'held by the United States in trust for the Pueblo de Taos'; the statute recites that the Taos Indians depend on the lands for water, forage, wood and timber and for religious ceremonials. An additional 764 acres followed in 1996 (Wikipedia). It is widely regarded as the first major modern U.S. return of land to a tribe.
- Legal aftermath
- Land RETURNED (see B3). Whether the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo's property protections apply to Pueblo lands is a legal-history question not resolved here; list as context.
- Kind
- Violation
- Confidence
- High
- Nation review
- Not yet reviewed by this nation
- Notes
- Some details not yet checked against a source