{"id":37792,"date":"2022-10-18T10:29:06","date_gmt":"2022-10-18T16:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/tribal-leaders-pepper-new-mexico-candidates-with-questions\/"},"modified":"2022-10-18T16:29:06","modified_gmt":"2022-10-18T16:29:06","slug":"tribal-leaders-pepper-new-mexico-candidates-with-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/tribal-leaders-pepper-new-mexico-candidates-with-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"Tribal leaders pepper New Mexico candidates with questions"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Republican
Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Ronchetti meets with people ahead of a political forum hosted by the All Pueblo Council of Governors in Albuquerque on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. (AP Photo\/Susan Montoya Bryan)<\/span>Susan Montoya Bryan<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

ALBUQUERQUE \u2013 Leaders representing Native American communities around New Mexico hosted a number of political candidates Friday, peppering them with questions about how they would ensure voting access for tribal members, respect sovereignty and protect water rights as the West grapples with historic drought.<\/p>\n

The forum in Albuquerque follows last year\u2019s efforts by tribes to stand their ground in the fight over legislative redistricting. The goal has been to keep the Native vote from being diluted and bring more light to issues that many tribal communities have been dealing with for decades \u2013 from the lack of adequate health care and educational opportunities to jurisdictional challenges that have hampered law enforcement efforts.<\/p>\n

Mark Mitchell, the chairman of the All Pueblo Council of Governors and the former governor of Tesuque Pueblo, told the crowd that the forum was critical given the disproportionate effect that the coronavirus pandemic had on tribes, 2020 census data and the redrawing of the state\u2019s political boundaries.<\/p>\n

\"Joseph
Joseph Ray, a disability advocate from Laguna Pueblo, talks with U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fern\u00e1ndez before a political forum hosted by the All Pueblo Council of Governors in Albuquerque on Friday. (AP Photo\/Susan Montoya Bryan)<\/span>Susan Montoya Bryan<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cWe are at the cusp of knowing how our advocacy will shape the governance of our state,\u201d he said, urging Native Americans to exercise their right to vote as early voting gets underway throughout New Mexico.<\/p>\n

The political weight of Native Americans has been building, particularly over the last year as New Mexico\u2019s political boundaries were redrawn. Native Americans make up more than 12% of New Mexico\u2019s population as the state is home to nearly two dozen pueblos and other tribal nations.<\/p>\n

Some tribal leaders said Friday there still is a long way to go when it comes to Native Americans making up a more significant percentage of the state\u2019s top officeholders. Boosting that number would help to shift the priorities of policymakers, they said.<\/p>\n

\"Sandia
Sandia Pueblo Gov. Stuart Paisano asks congressional candidates how they would protect tribal water rights during a political forum hosted by the All Pueblo Council of Governors in Albuquerque on Friday. (AP Photo\/Susan Montoya Bryan)<\/span>Susan Montoya Bryan<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Santa
Santa Ana Pueblo Gov. Joseph Sanchez listens as candidates for congressional office answer questions from tribal leaders during a forum hosted by the All Pueblo Council of Governors In Albuquerque on Friday. (AP Photo\/Susan Montoya Bryan)<\/span>Susan Montoya Bryan<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Questions for the candidates ranged from how they would address the ongoing crisis of missing and slain Native Americans to the systemic education shortfalls that are at the heart of a legal battle that state education officials have yet to remedy.<\/p>\n

Congressional incumbents and nearly all of their challengers were on hand, while Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Ronchetti made an appearance before the forum. Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham was invited, but she was traveling in southern New Mexico on Friday.<\/p>\n

Democrats touted the recent approval of billions of dollars in federal spending aimed at broadband, water and infrastructure projects, some of which will benefit tribes. Republicans talked about rising prices for food and other commodities and the link to spending at tribal-run casinos and hospitality venues, saying inflation needs to be addressed.<\/p>\n

Joseph Ray, a disability advocate from Laguna Pueblo, was hopeful the forum would help raise interest in the upcoming general election among Native Americans. His priorities include health care funding, noting that Congress over the years has included language aimed at providing services for people like himself, but those measures have resulted in unfunded mandates and the status quo.<\/p>\n

Ray said it\u2019s possible some voters will cross the aisle during the midterm elections.<\/p>\n

\u201cTribal communities have been made promises by candidates for so long,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Casey Duma, a past member of the All Pueblo Council of Governors, said it wasn\u2019t long ago that the voices of Native people were ignored and policies were created on behalf of Native Americans but without their input.<\/p>\n

Relationships with other governments have been changing as tribal communities organize and voting rights are exercised, he said.<\/p>\n

\"U.S.
U.S. Rep. Yvette Herrell speaks to a group of tribal officials during a political forum hosted by the All Pueblo Council of Governors in Albuquerque, N.M., on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. Herrell, who is seeking reelection, spoke about the need to address inflation. (AP Photo\/Susan Montoya Bryan)<\/span>Susan Montoya Bryan<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

access, sovereignty and water rights are concerns<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[815],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-37792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-associated-press-new-mexico"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37792"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=37792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}