近距离内射合集

It was one of my first assignments for an Albuquerque alternative newspaper. 鈥淕o get the reactions of Native Americans to the bicentennial,鈥� my editor said. It was 1976, and the U.S. was still reeling from Watergate, the OPEC oil embargo and high prices at the gas pump. Gerald Ford was president, soon to be replaced by Jimmy Carter.

Visiting the northern pueblos, I got a universal reaction from young and old in the plazas and in the shops. 鈥淲hat does the bicentennial have to do with us?鈥�

It鈥檚 a question that might be asked today about this year鈥檚 semi quincentennial celebration.

In 1976, there was a New Mexico commission, too 鈥� the Bicentennial Commission. But in March of that year, the eight northern pueblos and the All-Indian Pueblo Council pulled out in protest. In April, there was even an anti-bicentennial march at the University of New Mexico.

The reason for the withdrawal and protests, Del Lovato, chairman of the AIPC told me then, was that 鈥渢he state doesn鈥檛 appreciate Indians. 鈥� They鈥檙e trying to get jurisdiction in taxation and water rights while asking for our participation in this or that. 鈥� Indians get a slap in the face at every turn by the state of New Mexico and that has got to, and will, come to a screeching halt.鈥�

The pueblos were particularly mad at Gov. Jerry Apodaca and the Legislature for its recent passage of House Bill 19. The law allowed the state to tax improvements made by private businesses on Native American land. And the pueblos were not happy about a state court ruling the previous February about Mescalero Apache water rights, giving the state, and not the federal government, jurisdiction.

The tribes opposed the state鈥檚 authority to tax and regulate business and people within their borders, citing exclusive federal jurisdiction. The state, however, wanted to collect gross receipts on big commercial projects like the construction of the Inn of the Mountain Gods on the Mescalero reservation, which opened in 1975.

The leaders I spoke to were also irritated by one of the celebration鈥檚 projects, a Bicentennial Wagon Train to commemorate the Domingez and Escalante Expedition in 1776.

The whole bicentennial celebration seemed like a 鈥渃elebration of a colonial victory,鈥� Ernie Lovato, Santo Domingo Pueblo spokesperson and former vice chairman of the AIPC, told me, referring to the wagon train.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e still showing the guns, and the wagons,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a one-sided celebration and it reminds me of what happened to our ancestors.鈥�

Lovato said New Mexico was always using the image of Indians to attract tourists to an enchanted, multicultural state.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e constantly using the Zia symbol for selfish gain, business attraction and mass exploitation of Indian jewelry,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 wrong to do these things. Why have the Indians been picked on for it? America and New Mexico should be ashamed 鈥� this is why we don鈥檛 go around advertising for their ancestors.鈥�

Joe Garcia, governor of Namb茅 Pueblo added, 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have much to celebrate, in fact we should be in mourning because this was the beginning of the end for the Indian.鈥�

Fifty years later, times have changed. The New Mexico Semi-Quincentennial Commission has as its subtitle, 鈥淥ne Land, Many Stories.鈥� It has taken a broader historical approach, emphasizing cultural diversity and resilience. One online event with Indigenous journalists and scholars, sponsored by the commission, examines the Declaration of Independence鈥檚 infamous phrase, 鈥渕erciless Indian Savages.鈥� This summer, state historic sites will feature exhibits highlighting tribal sovereignty (at the Bosque Redondo Memorial) and tribal resilience (at Jemez Historic Site). 鈥淪tars, Stripes and First Americans,鈥� an exhibit at the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture, showcases the Navajo Code Talker, the proud symbol of Native Americans who, nationwide, continue to serve in the military at a much higher rate than the average population.

This time, the commission鈥檚 members include the secretary for the Department of Indian Affairs, a Cabinet-level department created in 2004. And who knows, if we are still celebrating in 2027, it may have an ex-officio member who is the first female Native American governor in U.S. history.

Dede Feldman was a Democratic state senator from North Valley for 16 years and is an author and former journalist.