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A MEMORIAL
DECLARING FEBRUARY 10, 2008 "SANTA FE FOUR HUNDREDTH
ANNIVERSARY DAY" AT THE SENATE AND COMMEMORATING THE MORE
THAN FOUR-HUNDRED-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE SETTLEMENT AND
FOUNDING OF LA VILLA REAL DE LA SANTA FE DE SAN FRANCISCO
DE ASIS, 1607-1610.
WHEREAS, before 1598, the pueblo people of the Rio
Grande region of New Mexico had inhabited the area now
officially known as La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San
Francisco de Asis, commonly called Santa Fe, for hundreds of
years; and
WHEREAS, from the first arrival of New Mexico's Spanish
colonists in August of 1598, the pueblo people of the Rio
Grande and adjoining regions of New Mexico provided support
and sustenance to those colonists, which allowed the
colonists to persevere at San Gabriel del Yunque, the first
villa and capital of New Mexico located in the pueblo lands
of Okeh Owinge, as well as at other small outlying
settlements; and
WHEREAS, from the time of 1607, there existed a small
settlement of Spanish colonists in that same area; and
WHEREAS, on March 30, 1609, the viceroy of New Spain,
Martin Lopez de Gauna, upon the appointment of Don Pedro de
Peralta as governor and captain general of New Mexico,
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ordered Governor Peralta to arrive in New Mexico before the
end of 1609 and to establish a villa at the site of what is
now Santa Fe; and
WHEREAS, by 1610, Governor Peralta had established his
villa at the site of what is now Santa Fe; and
WHEREAS, the pueblo people of New Mexico became part of
the extended community of the Spanish colonists, providing a
pool for intermarriage and becoming a source, both willingly
and unwillingly, of labor and economic support for the
colonists; and
WHEREAS, the Spanish colonists and the pueblo people
engaged in a two-way exchange of knowledge and cultural
folkways that would be mutually advantageous for both
peoples; and
WHEREAS, seventy years following the establishment of
the villa of Santa Fe, the pueblo people took up arms and
forced the inhabitants of the villa to retreat to El Paso in
what was then southern New Mexico; and
WHEREAS, in 1692, the Spanish colonists began a return
to the villa, which, following an initial peaceful return,
resulted in an armed conflict lasting through 1696; and
WHEREAS, following the repopulation of Santa Fe and
reinstitution of Spanish government in New Mexico, the pueblo
people found ways to protect their traditional ways while
adapting to the Spanish form of government and continuing the
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process of mutual cultural interchange and support; and
WHEREAS, over the following years into the twentieth
century and despite intermittent disputes, the colonists and
their descendants, many of whom were and are tied by blood to
the pueblo people and other surrounding Native American
tribes, and the pueblo people and other surrounding Native
American tribes formed alliances and accommodated each
other's cultures, allowing Santa Fe to flourish; and
WHEREAS, the peaceful acceptance of each other's
cultures continued through the United States' conquest of New
Mexico during the war with Mexico and contributed to the
evolution of Santa Fe's cultural heritage, and it resulted in
the recognition by the state and federal governments of the
sovereignty rights of the pueblo people, including their
rights to self-government; and
WHEREAS, during the period of 2008 through 2010, Santa
Fe shall proudly observe the four-hundred-year anniversary of
its settlement and subsequent founding as a villa and its
multicultural heritage with suitable events and observances
by the residents of Santa Fe to commemorate its first four
hundred years and to pass on to future generations the
Indo-Hispano heritage of Santa Fe and the surrounding region;
and
WHEREAS, it is important that the commemoration provide
a foundation for healing the past and opening the way for a
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permanent reconciliation between the descendants of Santa
Fe's Spanish colonists and the pueblo peoples and surrounding
Native American tribes as well as the descendants of all of
the other Santa Fe settlers who have contributed to Santa
Fe's multicultural heritage;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE
STATE OF NEW MEXICO that February 10, 2008 be declared "Santa
Fe Four Hundredth Anniversary Day" at the senate and that
congratulations be expressed to the residents of Santa Fe and
gratitude be expressed to the surrounding pueblo communities
for the commemoration of the four-hundred-year establishment
of Santa Fe as a villa; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the pueblo people and the
citizens of Santa Fe be invited and encouraged to participate
in ceremonies of reconciliation and mutual recognition in
furtherance of the more than four-hundred-year history of
Santa Fe; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
transmitted to the mayor and city council of the city of Santa
Fe and to the governors and tribal councils of all the pueblos
of New Mexico and to the other surrounding Native American
tribes.