New Mexico
Happy July Fourth from your friendly local ‘merciless Indian’ • Source New Mexico
I don’t skip over any words in the Declaration of Independence.
I find and lose meaning in the words that give Americans this day, this Independence Day, the ability to pop out and show the entire neighborhood how much they paid for the booms some of us light freely into the sky.
For me the Fourth is a day off work to barbecue and watch a few artillery shells explode over Albuquerque that someone may have brought from Texas or Oklahoma.
These are the truths I made self-evident in my Indigenous American life as I read the words from the declaration that colonists used to become U.S. royalty and mark its enemy, i.e. people like me, to westward expansion.
The declaration that set out to create the destructive government on this day in 1776 wanted to control new territories on the continent. The British monarchy, which wanted to move west from the Atlantic itself, needed to get out of the way.
The Declaration of Independence lists “a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.”
This is the part where Americans build an identity of separation from British rule. To remove oneself from an oppressive government. Ideas about taxation without representation. A belief that a common enemy is harming the progress of those free men in their pursuit of their God-given fortune.
And in true American xenophobia, the founders used the last line in its statement of “Facts” to blame a group of people it exploited, marginalized and rendered voiceless.
“He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.”
With that part included in its Declaration of Independence, the U.S. declared to the people living on this continent for millennia that any deviance from this new government would contribute to domestic insurrection, and those people would be marked as “merciless Indian Savages.”
It became the very foundation for Native American people’s relationship with the federal government — from the battles for our very existence to the rights we should receive after U.S. citizenship was established in 1924: access to health care, land and education to build the societies we are working on now.
I just read “merciless Indian Savage” again to myself and looked around at the people sitting in my living room in Albuquerque, New Mexico, right now who are from Zuni, Jemez, Laguna, Diné, Comanche, Cherokee, Kewa and Taos.
I read it to them. A mix of sadness, anger and laughter filled the room, because sometimes that’s all you can do when faced with this country’s hypocrisy.
I see mercy in all their faces. They show it in the work they do in education, law enforcement, arts and health care. They pray to it with songs and ceremonies once banned and punished under the authority of documents like the Declaration of Independence.
Call me and all my relations merciless when you read the Declaration of Independence today. Read it out loud. Say the words. Do not skip them. Live with them.
Then seek the truth.
We merciful NDNs exist in this country, some of us thrive in it publicly and privately. Many of us are like you and doing our best. We do this despite the objectification, justification for genocide and general degredation of our Indigenous being in a document that forms a hypocritical government meant to give rights to all men.
We’re not the only ones living with ultra-resilient DNA, this country’s foundation of injustice makes a lot of us built differently, Native or not.
I won’t tell you too much about what this country is or where it will go. I’m trying my best to figure it out. The Fourth of July can be a space for reflection on the values we want, but that is also so warped that I don’t even think we know how to define “value” beyond what a store would print on a receipt.
Truth is a value I will always stand by. It’s core to my soul. My truth in the Fourth of July is a celebration of the merciless Indians slandered when this country started, and our persistence for truth and justice.
And for myself, that is clearly evident.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A local business owner estimates he suffered about $1 million in damages as the result of yet another fire at a South Valley recycling plant.
Town Recycling on Broadway Blvd. SE has witnessed two fires in a span of less than two weeks with the first happening May 23rd and the second occurring Tuesday of this week.
Khalil Samaha, who owns Samcar, Inc. and Cedar’s Construction next door, says his businesses escaped without serious damage from the first fire, but the second one led to the loss of his main building, inventory he sells including trucks, construction equipment, computers, records, and much more.
“It’s a total mess. Everything is on the ground with water and insulation. It’s a total loss,” he said.
He gave KOB 4 a tour of his damaged property Wednesday and says that county officials have condemned the main office and won’t let him back inside.
“You can see all the glass is popped,” he said pointing to the windows. “I don’t know if the firefighters broke them or they exploded.”
A spokesperson for Bernalillo County Fire and Rescue issued a statement saying that, based on witness accounts, both fires may have started in a “bale of cardboard” at the recycling facility.
As of Wednesday evening, Broadway between Prosperity and Rio Bravo remained closed.
Samaha says firefighters attempted to battle the second fire from a different area than the first and the wind may have made conditions tougher.
“This time, the wind didn’t help,” he said. “So, it was blowing in my direction and took the building and some equipment in the back.”
Having seen two fires at the neighboring recycling facility in a span of about 11 days, he wonders if this will finally be the end of it.
“I hope it’s the last time. But, worried? Yes, we are worried,” he said. “We are close to them, and the materials are close to the fence. We share the fence together, so it’s always in the back of your mind.”
And now he lives with the memory of how quickly everything can change – just like it did earlier this week.
“It was very quick. From the smoke to the flame to the fire, it was very, very quick.”
A representative of Town Recycling declined our request for an interview.
LAS VEGAS, N.M. – New Mexico Highlands University President Niel Woolf has sued the school, claiming leaders pushed him to redirect a $600,000 contract to a chairman’s friend.
Woolf filed the lawsuit after the university placed him on administrative leave at the beginning of May.
He says Board of Regents Chair Frank Sanchez told him to cancel a $600,000 agreement with an out-of-state contractor and give it to a local contractor.
Woolf says that company is led by a friend of both Sanchez and his brother-in-law, Sen. Pete Campos, who represents Las Vegas.
In the lawsuit, Woolf says Sanchez told him directing the funds to his friend would “go a long way towards securing money for the University from Senator Campos,” said Woolf.
Woolf is seeking damages and attorney’s fees under the New Mexico Whistleblower Protection Act.
CHAMA, N.M. – The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad will begin its summer season on Tuesday, June 9, after the railroad delayed its opening due to drought and wildfire danger.
The season was initially set to begin on May 23. The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad Commission said it would conduct a review on June 2 to determine if it was safe enough to begin operations.
“A sincere thank you to all our passengers and the communities in Chama and Antonito who have been so patient as we waited for conditions to improve,” said Eric Mason, CEO of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. “We are excited to welcome guests back aboard and hear the opening whistle signal the start of another memorable season.”
The railroad will hold a Grand Opening Celebration on Saturday, June 13, in Chama. The celebration will coincide with Chama Western Heritage Days, a community festival that weekend with live music, vendors, and rodeo competitions.
The railroad recently won USA TODAY’S poll for the best scenic train ride in the country. In celebration of the win, the railroad said passengers who book by June 7 ca receive a 25% discount on coach tickets for trips through August. Guests must redeem the offer by calling the railroad at 888-286-2737 using promo code USATODAY#1.
Tickets are also available for the first Dark Sky Train departures on June 12 from Chama and June 13 from Antonito. The dark sky trains include evening excursions led by international dark sky guides, and take passengers to secluded spots with minimal light pollution.
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